


Flock Together

by Terias



Series: Birds of a Feather [1]
Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends, 魔法使いの嫁 | Mahou Tsukai no Yome | The Ancient Magus Bride
Genre: Crossover/Fusion, Fujiwara Shigeru can hear youkai but is utterly blind to them, Gen, Guardianship, Natsume is a bad liar, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-02-04 08:34:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12767124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terias/pseuds/Terias
Summary: With great trepidation, Hatori Chise is handed off to a new family. Things, as ever, are the same. People can't see all manner of creatures or creepy-crawlies, and Chise draws these beings to herself without even trying. However, there's something not-so-ordinary about this sleepy countryside town. The people are different.





	1. A New Family

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is what comes out after my years long unexpected hiatus. I sat down to write/edit the next arc of my Harry Potter fic and instead this was produced. Welp. Part of me feels bad, while the other part is happy I was finally able to write something. 
> 
> I hope you like it.

She’s still not used to it, the handovers from one family to another. She does know it changes nothing.

What was the name of the family again? Ah… this is bad. She can’t remember. Her brain is too fuzzy when she sleeps and eats so little.

She tries to present herself in the best way, making sure she’s clean and that her hair is brushed and that her clothes don’t have holes in them. She doesn’t want to be a bother or look like the family passing her on hasn’t tried to take care of her. They made more effort than others. But when the new family arrives she’s facing a wall in the living room with her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She’d spent the better part of an hour trying not to look where the noises—the glorping, the scratching, the rasping, the almost-talking whispering—are coming from. It makes her skin crawl.

Sakamoto-san doesn’t scold her as she opens the door, most certainly glad to have the creepy sixth grader out of her hair. “Ah! Hello, hello! These are all of her belongings. Shall I help you carry them down, Kitamoto-kun?”

“No, no. I can carry two boxes. They’re pretty light! Sis, you can get the bag right?” The voice is much older, but not old enough to be an adult yet. She thinks he must be a high schooler.

“Yep. Got it,” answers the younger voice. Older than she is definitely. Middle school then? “We’ll meet you downstairs, Bro.”

“See ya.” The door shuts.

“Thanks for being so prompt. I,” Sakamoto-san says with relief, “I was worried something might happen on the way.”

“Oh?”

“W-well. You know what you’re getting into so I’ll leave everything in your family’s capable hands.” Sakamoto-san steps to the edge of the living room, well out of arm’s reach. “Chise, I know things have been difficult for you here, but... I really do wish you all the best.”

She raises her head, but doesn’t look or answer her, arms still curled around her legs. Sakamoto-san sighs and exits the room, leaving her alone with the Kitamoto girl.

“Hatori-chan, we’re all set. Ready to go?” The middle schooler’s smile is bright. Soon it will dim and fester into an unpleasant darkness that attracts the worst sorts.

Chise ducks her head down and dully hums an affirmative. She’s tired and stressed, but reassures herself that a new place will give her some reprieve… at least for a few days. She knows it won’t help long, and that they’ll grow scared the longer she stays, and that there’s nothing she can do. She slowly unravels herself from the position and straightens to stand.

Her hands tighten on the hem of her jacket as a globular black thing with teeth but no eyes slithers around the room at high speed, twining between her ankles before fleeing the room again. She can’t help the tension in her shoulders or the stuttered breathing. It’s better than a scream. She doesn’t want to scream at the first meeting. She tightly closes her eyes and focuses on breathing.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” the girl says comfortingly. “We live out in the countryside. Everyone’s really friendly and you’ll get all the fresh air and sunshine you need.”

She looks at the taller girl, who reaches out a hand to her.

"My name’s Kitamoto Mana, but call me Mana. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hatori Chise. Pl-pleased to meet you.” She lightly places her small, cold fingers onto the girl’s warm hand and thinks, _Ah, I hope you won’t hate me._

“Whoa…” Mana breathes out slowly, staring. “Your picture didn’t do you justice at all.”

“Mm?” She blinks at her and ducks her head down shyly, but the other girl doesn’t let go of her hand.

“Well, let’s get out of here. Dad and Bro are probably wondering what’s taking so long.” Mana pulls her along holding her hand, her other shoulder is weighed down by the strap of the dufflebag she carries.

There’s very little resistance in Hatori’s legs as she’s pulled out the condominium door, hearing it slide shut with finality behind her. She stares at the ground, but her eyes stray to the movement of the tiny creatures running amok and quickly skitter away before they catch her gaze. She hears them whispering about her leaving. ” _Where is she going_?” “ _Why is she leaving?”_ They all seem to want to desperately know, some cling to her jeans or grasp at her sleeves, stirring the air around her.

She clenches her teeth and hangs her head. _Go away. Go away!_

Despite what she said, Mana doesn’t seem to be in a big hurry as they wait for the elevator to ascend. She still hasn’t let go of her hand.

“ _Stay with us! Stay with us, beloved child!”_ They crawl onto her back and shoulders, pulling at her hair in a fit, but she bears it for now.

“So, is it true”—Chise’s shoulders tense up at the phrase—“that you love natto?”

“Huh?” She swats at several of the utensil-shaped creatures, as if to straighten her hair and dust off her shoulders and back. One stubbornly clings where she can’t reach.

“Well, Sakamoto-san said it was what you ate most often. I thought maybe you really liked it?”

The elevator doors opened, and several _somethings_ spilled out. A tug on her arm made her realize that it must look strange that she was waiting as if others were disembarking when ‘nothing’ was there.

While the creatures seemed to be in a state of confusion, she manages to dislodge the last one and hop into the elevator after Mana, who swiftly chose the lobby button and lays an impatient finger on the close doors button.

“I guess not then,” the older girl mutters to herself. “So, what do you like?”

She swallows, jumping slightly when a ghostly head with eyes too large for it sticks through the wall, and quickly looks at the floor. “I-I… don’t…. I mean, I’ll… eat anything edible.” _Or try to._ She winces at how many delicious meals she couldn’t touch after evil-looking beings slobbered or crawled over her dish.

“Sweets? Mmm… What about salty foods? Not that either? Hmm.” She can feel Mana’s eyes on her and then hears as she snaps her fingers. “You’d want something light and easy on the stomach, right? I mean, it makes sense when you barely eat anything.” The elevator finishes its descent and dings, opening the door for them.

She startles when Mana squeezes her hand, glancing over her shoulder with a smile. “I’ve always wanted a little sister, Hatori-chan. Would that be okay with you?”

Her eyes burn at the words, and she barely sees anything around her as her vision fixates on the back of Mana’s purple shirt. She only then notices that it has a cute picture of a fat lucky cat statue on it, peeking out from behind the long dark brown hair falling gently over it.

After Mana bursts through the double doors in front of them, the sounds and smells of the city nearly overwhelm Chise who’s in tow, while the early summer weather blasts her with humidity and heat. “Here we are!” Heading to the open trunk, Mana places the bag inside and slams it shut, all one-handed. Kitamoto-san and his son have the windows down and are looking at her with similar gentle grins on their face. It makes her feel very strange and not as small as most smiles do.

Every time Chise thinks of letting her go, her hand reflexively tightens, so Mana steps back from the car door she just opened, turning towards her and placing her other hand on top of Chise's cold curled fingers. “Hey, this is fine. And it’s okay to cry.” Her warm fingers pull away long enough to brush the wetness from Chise’s burning cheeks.

 _When did that…_ “S-sorry…”

“It’s scary,” the son says from his window, “Being forced to move in with people you don’t know.” His face gentles. “Isn’t it?”

It’s a surprise she can hear anything over the pounding of her heart and the sound of traffic and crowds of people. She nods and hangs her head, bangs blocking her reddened expression from view, and her hand finally loosens the grip it had on Mana’s. The middle schooler gets in the car and slides over, buckling in. “Climb in!” Mana pats the backseat next to her. “Dad’s taking us out to eat while we’re in the city. Obviously, a place with salads or light soups! Right, Dad?”

“Right,” He answers, as Chise climbs in shutting the door behind her and buckling in. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Chise-chan.”

She braces her hands on her thighs to keep herself upright as the cramped car moves. It smells like a rental vehicle and looks too pristine to be otherwise. She hopes they didn’t needlessly overspend when they could have shipped her belongings to their place and taken the train together. At the same time, she is immensely comforted since fewer creatures will try to follow her from the old place to their home. “Th-thanks for having me, Kitamoto-san,” she mumbles.

“Now, now. Don’t need to be so formal, but I understand if it takes time.”

The radio is on, but it’s too low to make out anything. The sound gets under her skin for some reason.

“So, you’re in your last year of elementary school?” Mana asks cheerfully, the seriousness of a few minutes ago completely vanished. “Excited about moving up to middle school next year? I know I am! I’ll be able to watch out for you as your senior!”

There’s something grinding dully… like metal… but as soon as she looks up, it fades away. She wishes that it was only her imagination. The front seat and short brown hair of Mana’s brother obstructs her view of the windshield, but she tilts her head and looks to the left outside her window.

“Yeah,” she says softly. Only if she’s with them longer than six months. She doubts that will happen.

* * *

After a filling dinner, she falls asleep upright with her head pressed against the backseat. It’s not until the door on her side opens and the seatbelt is unbuckled that she wakes. A hand rests on her shoulder. “I’ll carry you inside, if that’s okay?” It’s the highschooler.

As soon as “Kay” mumbles out her lips, he scoops her into his arm and takes her towards a large building, silhouetted by the street lights. Their apartment is on the first floor.

“We’re back,” the father says quietly.

“Welcome home,” an older woman greets.

“Sorry, Mom, I think she’s too exhausted from the trip to greet you,” she hears Mana say softly after a door swings open.

“I can see that,” the woman responds kindly as she removes Chise’s shoes, “Atsushi, take her to Mana’s room. I’ve already set out a futon for her.”

The apartment is fairly small for the size of the family, so it’s not long before she’s placed on the futon in a darkened room. Once she’s tucked in, she immediately drifts off.

“Good night, Hatori-chan,” Atsushi whispers into the dark and shuts the door to the room.


	2. Weighted Chains

She wakes slowly in a quiet, still room. Turning, Chise doesn’t see curtains to a window or even a glowing face of a clock, just a solitary buttery nightlight in the shape of a butterfly. Maybe Mana uses her phone as an alarm and clock, then.

Carefully Chise straightens the futon and rolls it up, placing it to the side and out of the way. Unsure if the floor beneath the frame holding the tatami or the wooden floor beneath will creak or not, she moves her feet silently and slowly towards the exit. Mana doesn’t stir.

She opens the door, stepping out, and closes it behind her softly. The hallway is narrow, but the shadows aren’t jumping out at her. This is a relief.

This family must be happy, she thinks. The unhappier a family, the more shadows wriggle and squirm upon her arrival.

She steps out of the dark hallway into the kitchen area, which abuts the entryway and is separated from a living room with open shoji doors. The only light comes from the glow beneath the curtains hanging over the sink, but she hears the ticking of a clock hanging on the wall. She opens the fridge door for light to see that it’s three in the morning. She’s also still in the clothes she wore yesterday. She shuts the fridge and waits for her eyes to adjust.

Always after the moving from one family to a new one she’s wired and awake. She sleeps and eats well, so that’s no surprise, yet she won’t be able to sleep if she tries.

Going to the living room she sits and waits for someone to wake up. Her mind floats in the silence, the ticking of the clock disappearing as she sinks against the wall. It’s nice.

It’s unfortunate that a light flicks on an hour later and a woman in a business suit shrieks in fright before calming herself enough to say, “O-oh, Hatori-chan what are you doing out here?”

Chise is tense from the shriek and her mind worries that she should have stayed in the room they placed her in after all and pretended to sleep.

“Mom?” A sleepy Mana calls out sleepily, “What’s—”

Kitamoto-san’s heavy trods have the weird sensation of grinding as he steps out of the hallway. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

“Oh it’s nothing much,” his wife says lightly, pulling out prepackaged foods from the freezer and stuffing them into a small bag. She leans over the counter to lightly touch his cheek and murmurs something Chise can’t hear.

He turns and seems surprised to see Chise sitting in the living room. “Hatori-chan?” Worry colors his tone as he passes quickly through the rooms to kneel next to her. “Bad dreams?”

“No, sir,” she says politely. “I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

Soft footsteps slide across the floor and Mana appears behind his shoulder yawning heavily. “Bro’s lucky to be able to sleep through Mom’s shrieks.”

“I d-didn’t mean to—”

Mana exchanges a look with her dad and he nods, standing with popping joints. There’s a shadow clinging to him, and a grinding noise as chain-like wraiths clatter to the ground. Chise only then realizes that he’s still in his pajamas, since the miasma covering him is so thick. Is he ill?

Mana kneels next to her, drawing Chise’s worried stare. “It’s okay. Mom shrieks when she sees bugs too. Can’t tell you how many times it’s woken me up.”

Chise looks down.

“Well, I have a few more hours before I need to wake up. I’m going back to sleep.” The grinding sound is a bit clearer. It’s the sound of rusted metal drawing across the Kitamotos’ polished wood floor. A door closes down the hall. Chise is really worried about the man.

 “You came out here because you didn’t want to wake me up, hm?” The older girl smiles sleepily at her, scooting closer to sit next to her. “Fidget too much? That’s okay, you know, to wake me up. If you need something… or even if you don’t, you won’t bother me.”

She bites her lip to physically stop the pessimistic reply, takes a breath, and nods.

“Mana, make sure everyone has a lunch today,” the woman orders without any meanness, grabbing her bag of food and a nice-looking purse.

“Yep!”

“I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you tonight, Hatori-chan.” Keys clink in the corner and the front door opens. Thankfully, nothing comes inside as she leaves.

“Did you want to help me cook?” After a glance at her face, Mana grins. She’s much more awake now. “It’s okay if you don’t know how. I’ll teach you. We have plenty of time!”

“O-okay.”

* * *

Kitamoto-san had appeared not long after they were done making breakfast and bento boxes, holding a hanger with a school uniform and a schoolbag that’s nicer than her own. The chains are much clearer now, pure black with a dark blue sheen. They seem to bruise where they touch his skin. “We had these ordered for you, since Sakamoto-san said your old bag was ruined.”

“Thank you, sir.” Chise takes the hanger and the bag, which is heavy enough to already have notebooks and anything else she needs besides school books in it. She sets it down by the other two bags by the door.

“You don’t have to be so formal,” he says lightly, pulling out a chair and sitting down to eat. The unnatural metal of his chains makes a loud screech to her. Her eyes are drawn to the black-stained floor where they’ve left their nasty marks like a trail of darkness. “I drew a bath for you. You have time before you need to go to school.”

“O-oh.” She wonders if maybe he’s cursed instead. But who would hurt this man with an easy smile? Her chest hurts at the thought of this happy family losing such a kind father. “Thank you.”

“Eat first. You’re so thin!” Mana says without a sneer. Her voice is encouraging.

So, Chise eats everything placed in front of her, trying not to look messy as she eats. The food doesn’t sit like a stone in her belly. Mana puts more on her plate, and she finishes that too, but more slowly. “Thanks for the meal.”

Mana beams as she gathers up the plates, and Chise excuses herself, struggling to ignore the pleased look in Kitamoto-san’s eye. This family is too nice. Nicer than any of the other ones. How much will their kindness curdle when the _things_ come to haunt her? She knows it will be bad when the time comes, yet she doesn’t want to leave. Her being here might make what’s hurting Kitamoto-san worse.

She washes herself and then soaks in the tub. It’s been a long time since she could sit in a bath unbothered. It’s better than she remembers. She sits there in the silence, simply enjoying herself.

Mana knocks on the door. “Hatori-chan, I set out clothes for you. We should get going so I can show you the way to school.”

“Okay,” she answers and stands up, stepping out of the deep tub and toweling off.

As soon as she’s ready, she comes out, but she must’ve come out too quietly because Atsushi and Mana are talking with hushed tones by the entryway to the apartment.

“She’s afraid to bother us,” he said simply.

“Oh, that’s why…” She whispers. “I feel so bad for her. Considering what Mom and Dad heard about her. She doesn’t seem that weird to me.”

“Yeah,” her brother agrees. “And she isn’t troublesome at all.”

Chise stops at the doorway, raising a hand to grip the frame.

Atsushi must have seen the movement because he tilts his head up and swivels it towards her. “Good morning, Hatori-chan.”

“Morning,” she mumbles and looks down.

Making an excited noise in the back of her throat, Mana wraps an arm around her. “You look so cute in your uniform! Can I call you, Chi-chan?”

“Okay?”

“Chi-chan, here’s your bento. It’s in a bag since we’re going by bike.”

She stares at the ground and then jerks her head up to look at the time. Oh. Oh no. She was so used to taking the train or walking. She didn’t think they’d give her a bicycle.

“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t look like that, you’ll make your Big Sis cry.” Mana places a hand on each shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t… know how…” Her hands grip the middle of her skirt.

“In that case, today you’ll have to perch on the back of my bike and hold on tight!” Mana flashed a ‘v’ sign. “I’ll teach you when we get home. Deal?”

“…Okay.” When she looks up, the siblings are giving each other a look.

Atsushi picks up his bag and bento after putting on his shoes. “I’ll see you later. Both of you take care. Don’t take any shortcuts. The woods nearby can be dangerous.”

“Sure, sure,” Mana says with a wave of her hand. Once her brother leaves, Mana says offhandedly, “He’s so superstitious that you’d think he was an old man.”

Chise remains silent at that, puzzling over what she means.


	3. A Curious Thing

She’s glad she doesn’t know how to ride a bike because this place is covered in little creatures, no matter where she looks. As expected, Mana is completely oblivious to the ones scurrying away quickly out of her path. A few don’t make it and the bike heavily thuds over them like rocks or small potholes. Chise looks over her shoulder and sees them stand up and brush themselves off or shake fists at Mana. Chise worries about curses. As soon as she turns back around, she sees a giant green lump in the middle of the road. “Watch out!”

Her warning comes too late; the bike hits the green log and they both tumble over.

“What the…?” Mana is looking around in absolute confusion, but Chise quickly picks herself up, gathering their bags.

Actually, the green log is bald-headed with a ring of green hair and a giant shell of a turtle on its back. She steps closer staring down at it. The beaked creature whimpers, “Wa… water. Summer… Eye.”

Chise blinks and opens her bento pack, grabbing the bottle of water from it and dumps it onto its head.

It sighs in relief and sits up. “Thank you, Summer-eye—” It stops, stares, and then gasps. “You’re not… You’re not Lord Summer-Eye.”

“Chi-chan…?” A hesitant voice calls her. She turns, and Mana is staring at her, holding the bike up where their school bags hung from each side.

“Oh!” Chise bows out of embarrassment and mollification. “Um. Sorry for wasting the water. I... Uh. I’ll refill it at school.” This was the _worst_.

“Are you okay?” Mana asks with an appraising eye, but Chise knows she’s only dirtied her brand-new school uniform and scuffed her shoes. “You’re not hurt?”

“I’m okay,” Chise places her bento bag in the basket and perches on the back of the bike. She’s holding tightly to Mana’s shoulders and can’t help the deep breath of relief when Mana doesn’t ask what happened.

* * *

There were more of them. They were all over the school. Chise had never seen so many and so colorful in the middle of the day. Normally, they came at night and clung to shadows and were terrifying.

These ones were harmless. She just had to be extra careful not to look at them, to pretend she didn’t see.

“Mmm, something smells really good today,” a pair of winged people in kimonos says in their tree.

“Like spring has come again? It’s strange. It was so faint yesterday night.”

“Maybe there’s a new divine being in town.”

Chise startles when someone touches her shoulder. “…Sorry?”

“You okay? You were spacing out there,” the class representative says with a polite smile.

“Yeah,” she says softly as she follows her to gym class.

* * *

She supposes the countryside is very different with so many _things_ around, especially the people. She would almost call them weird if they weren’t so generous.

A light smile is on her face as she holds the bicycle hand-grips. Mana is keeping her promise, staying with her for a few hours after school until Chise could ride up and down the road nearby. Then they’re riding home together, Chise perched behind her. Mana has chosen a slower pace than the one she took that morning, but Chise doesn’t mind at all since it’s easier for the sprites and various creatures to get out of the way. The shell-backed person isn’t around as they cross the place where they’d crashed that morning.

At the apartment, Chise helps with dinner and afterwards they do their homework and other things normal families do. Kitamoto-san had arrived home early from work and is sleeping in the living room. The miasma is thicker than earlier.

When Mana is busying herself around the kitchen, Chise spends some time studying the chains from across the room. They didn’t lead to anywhere she could see. However, there is scribbling, etchings on it, indecipherable to her.

She frowns. She really wants to help them.

Sadly, she doesn't know how nor does she know how to get help about something like this. They wouldn't believe her anyway and claim she was just trying to unnecessarily scare them with made-up horror stories.

Chise wishes they weren't real, and that she was really a liar seeking attention. Life would be far more bearable if that was the case. 

It's a curious thing that honesty sits like a frog in her throat, trying to leap out. She has to keep swallowing it down, and she knows eventually it will get free. But for now, she enjoys the remaining time she has with this kind family and hopes the things that come for her don't bring more calamity to them than has already happened.


	4. Assorted Gifts

“Heeyyyyyy!”

Chise looks up and abruptly puts the brakes on. Standing in the middle of the road, the green creature with a turtle shell and beak was waving his arms at her. She looks around, but she left early enough that the street is empty. She tilts her head at it.

The creature hobbles over to her on webbed feet and with webbed hands offers her a large cucumber. “In thanks for helping me the other day!”

She takes it before she thinks that maybe she shouldn’t and puts it in her bag. It might be a tasty addition to dinner tonight.

“What’s your name, human?” The creature crowds her and then moves around her. “I haven’t seen you before. Did you move here?”

“I’m Hatori Chise,” she whispers. “A family brought me here yesterday.”

“Hatori Chise? That’s a beautiful name.” It leans back and takes a deep breath. “Are you the one that reminds us of spring?”

“…huh?” She tenses up when she realizes there are a few high school students walking by, chatting. She knows they’re staring at her hair, not because she’s standing in the middle of the street supposedly looking at the river.

“Oh!” The creature exclaims in excitement. “You don’t know what you are then, little one.”

“…A Beggey, right?” She whispers. “I don’t know what that is.”

The creature’s face widens in surprise. It’s so disconcerting that she follows her instinct to jump onto her bike and pedal away.

At school, the various little _things_ have taken notice of her, stepping aside and whispering or hanging from the ceiling and groaning. They’ve begun to conglomerate and so quickly. It’s only been a day! The tension she had left behind upon the move returns with a vengeance. She feels a headache forming from it.

“Hatori-chan?” One of her classmates queries when she stops, shocked into stillness. “What is it? A bug? Do you hate bugs?”

To him, she hums flatly in the negative, ducking her head down, and tries to pretend that a group of beings aren’t following her into the classroom. All day she’s distracted and can’t focus; it’s the complete opposite of how she was yesterday. She knows she comes off as weird. She waits for the whispers, the pulling away but no one seems to notice yet.

In home economics, they’re between units of material, so the teacher is showing them how to make a paper fan from scratch. It looks like something fun to decorate and give away if they want. Chise paints a few flowers on the white paper that’ll be turned into a fan, filling in the thin, carefully inked lines she made. She falls into a calm silence as this happens and the world seems to fall away.

“Hatori Chise?” She snaps out of her trance and looks up at the smiling teacher. A few students giggle at her inattentiveness. “Class is over. It’s lunch time. Make sure to clean up before you go.”

“Yes, m’am.”  She sees that her fan is already made, drying. Her hands have splotches of dye from the watercolors and her fingers itch from drying glue-paste. She makes short work of the mess and leaves the home ec classroom, bag dangling from her fingers. Feeling strangely tired, she stops to rest against the windowsill. The tree outside is full of winged creatures, and they’re all staring at her.

Adrenaline spikes and suddenly she doesn’t feel as tired. She runs down the hall, hopping down the staircase. Her skirt billows up, but she doesn’t care since she wears shorts underneath anyway. She makes it to her classroom, stutters some apologies at the girls wanting to eat with her, grabs her bento, and runs. She doesn’t stop until she finds a quiet spot by some bushes, behind the gym. She’s sweating and out of breath. Her hands shake as she opens the bento and nearly cries when she sees that nothing is crawling over her food. She scarfs it down ravenously, eyes darting around in case something tries to grab her.

The sound of slight chinking causes her to look up, and a group of boys from her class stare down from the roof. Oh no.

She quickly packs her empty bento and dashes off, face flaming with embarrassment.

* * *

Before the bell for the next class rings, she returns to retrieve her fan, but it’s missing. Her eyes burn and water, but she takes a deep breath.

 _So, it begins…_ There’s a shadow in the classroom but it’s not any student from this school. _Or not._

A flashy, beautiful woman in a kimono has opened her fan. It glows with an unnatural light in her hands. “Child of man, this is superb. You made this?” The woman turns towards her, and Chise can see she is otherworldly. “That kappa said he found a Beggey, but we all thought he was joking.” The woman offers Chise the fan and then bows. “I’m Hinoe. You’re such a rare one. Please allow me to escort you so that no one bothers you.” However, her smile is too sharp, and when a hand reaches to pet her head Chise flinches violently away.

The bell rings. “Oh!” She exhales loudly and runs to her homeroom. The Hinoe woman doesn’t follow.

The presence of other assorted beings diminishes though, leaving the building strangely deserted now. Though she thinks it’s strange, this is how it normally is for people who can’t see them, right? Instead, they hang outside the classroom window or in the schoolyard, distracting but no longer directly underfoot. The tension eases, and she manages to pay attention in class. It's a gift of sorts, but she gladly welcomes it.

* * *

When she arrives at the apartment where the Kitamotos live, she locks up her bike on the rack under the awning. She can feel eyes on her, but the beings make no moves.

There’s a loud croak behind her. She sees a frog in a glass jar. Maybe one of the neighbor’s kids had caught it and left it to bake in the sun. Poor thing.

She picks up the jar and walks to the ditch across the road. Tilting the jar next to a muddy puddle, she waits with a deep stillness and patience until it hops out.  After setting the jar down, she stays crouched as it looks up at her with a croak. “Take care, frog. Little kids can be scary.”

“Hatori-chan!” Mana’s voice calls. Chise stands up, self-consciously brushing her skirt. Mana comes to a stop on her bike by the ditch. “Sorry I was running late, club activities took longer than usual.” She waits until Chise comes nearer and then heads over to the bike rack with her. “How was your day at school?”

“It was okay,” Chise quietly muses, and then after Mana locked her bike Chise says, “I made a paper fan in home economics.”

“Oh, can I see?” Mana slides the key into the door’s lock and opens it, kicking off her shoes with practiced ease.

Entering after her, Chise pulls her schoolbag from her shoulders and pulls out the homemade fan. She offers it to Mana. “If you want it, I’ll give it to you.”

Mana slowly unfolds it and simply stares at it before managing a quiet, “Wow.” She gingerly closes it and simply holds it. “Have you joined a club yet?”

“Yes.”

“Cool, which one?”

“Literary Club.” It is usually the easiest place to be. It was where she could spend the entire time immersed in books, instead of inventing excuses about the strange happenings around her to others who would only see inexplicable accidents. The worst that happened were books toppling down. Reading books didn’t lend to as much glass-breaking, tripping, wood-snapping, stumbling, bruising, wind-gusting events which led to relentless injury and property damages, frantic apologies, fines, fees, suspensions…

“It suits you,” Mana smiles, disrupting the dark path Chise’s thoughts had taken. “It’s too bad you don’t like art. I’m sure that club would be thrilled to have you.”

Chise shrugs lightly and pulls out the cucumber setting it on the counter-top without explanation. She goes to their shared room to switch out clothes. When she comes back out to assist Mana with dinner preparations, the paper fan is in a place of pride, decorating the blank wall between Kitamoto family photographs. 

It's obvious from Mana's soft smile that she's only pretending not to notice the tears Chise is hastily wiping from her face.

This family is... Chise begins to think and falters as her mind draws a blank in the face of the rising fear that they would come to reject her. They will. They will grow to hate her and her unsettling presence. This, she thinks with absolute certainty. She tempers her expression and gets to work dicing the vegetables Mana had set out for her.


	5. The Broken Chain

That night, as the Kitamotos slept blissfully, something loud thuds on the ceiling above Chise.

 _So it's happening_ … She swallows thickly, covers pulled over her head.

A low moan causes the mats beneath her to vibrate. She feels it in her bones. This one… this one won’t be like the others.

Then there’s a loud grinding noise, like chains so heavy they dig troughs in polished wood floors. The tracks burn with disgusting energy. Chise has been hugging the sides of the apartment walls so she never has to tread on them.

The door creaks softly open, and the miasma pours into the room choking her breath. Mana lets out a breathy rasp in her sleep and burrows deeper into her futon.

“ _Beggey… You… will do..”_ A dark fire is burning hot around the figure shrouded in a full cowl, tattered rope and scraggly paper clinging to it like lint. Its weedy voice hissing like riverside grass “ _Freedom… You will grant that to me._ ”

Chise abruptly screams, diving away from the chains that seem to come out from nowhere. They slam into her futon ripping the blankets apart. Down flies everywhere, but she doesn’t care. She’s gathering her breath trying to find an escape out of the room with only one door.

Mana jerks awake behind her, groggy voice tinged with confused concern. “Chise?”

When the looming figure reaches for her, Chise runs out of the room with another abbreviated scream, skidding across the marred surface. Her foot slams into the wall in her haste stubbing a toe, but she uses that to push herself forward. She sprints down the hall, the soles of her feet squealing as she stops to turn and thuds into the wall next to their schoolbags.

“Chise?!” Mana yells more desperately this time

Chise hears the chains and jump-dives towards the door, slamming hard against it and the noise reverberates through the kitchen. The side-wall behind her sounds like it buckled under a heavy weight, and Chise knows they’d see it and wonder how it happened. Wonder how she managed to run so hard that she damaged the wall. She unlocks and rips the door open, fleeing by foot. She didn’t have time to get her bike unlocked.

The nasty _thing_ behind her screeches like rusty nails in a metal pan. Panting, she takes off across the road and down the nearest sloping path. Moonlight faintly offers her sure footing.

The monster is chasing her. Howling her name with desperate but dangerously cold longing.

So, she runs, blindly into the forest that Atsushi warned her about.

The only warning she gets is the sound of bells before a giant beast descends. Chise is surrounded by heavy cloth, but the fear abates some.

“Oh, ho?” A deep voice reverberates all around her. “A filthy degenerate dares to appear in my land? BEGONE.”

The inhuman shrieks are much louder. Chise claps her hands over her ears, trembling. It’s several minutes before the shrieks disappear, and she’s left alone with this huge spirit who offered her help. Fretting, she glances up, but sees nothing besides a small triangle of faint moonlight between the folds of cloth. The creature above her emanates chilliness, but not cold like the one that had chased her.

Her mouth works with tiny gasps, but she’s still so scared she doesn’t know what to say.

The huge being slides backwards until Chise can see the shadowed treeline through the moonlight. “Treasured Hatori Chise, you have no need to fear me. The demon has fled.”

“A demon…?” With curious eyes, she looks up and up and up and up. A black silhouette in the moonlight reminds her of a stallion reared back, but with a pair of horns sprouting from its head and wearing a yukata of some kind. There’s an extremely large hand sitting next to her, but the other is a hoof. Not far off then? “That was a demon?”

“Yes.” The large eyes gaze down at her. “Beloved child, why don’t you come with me into the forest? I’ll protect you from such things. You needn’t fear going hungry or growing lonely.”

“I don’t belong in the forest. I belong with other humans,” she says bluntly. Others had tried to take her away before. The first time she foolishly agreed, but the being had no idea how to care for her or any sense of time at all.

“They won’t understand you.”

She looks up and then hesitantly says, “Would you?”

He lets out a deep huff. The moist air ruffles her hair.

“Chi-chan!” She hears behind her. Another voice calls, “Hatori-chan!!”

The Kitamoto siblings. Oh no. She looks down at herself. Her hands are muddied, and her pajamas torn and dirtied. The majestic creature above her shifts. “My name is Misuzu. Should you change your mind, simply tell a frog that crosses your path. I will know and swiftly retrieve you. Until then.”

With wide green eyes, she watches it take off like an arrow, a bell shaking in the distance. The wind is greatly disturbed, sending the tree limbs thrashing and leaves blowing. Her hair flings around in the great gusts of wind, but she is for once unafraid.

Flashlights appear in the clearing.

“There you are! We were worried sick, Chi-chan. Are you okay?” As soon as she was near enough to Chise , Mana wraps her arms around her shoulders and holds her tightly.

“I’m sorry,” she says shivering like a leaf into Mana’s shoulder. Mana hugs her tighter.

“Come on home,” Atsushi says by her head. “Mom’s making some tea and snacks.”

When she stands, Mana points the flashlight at Chise’s feet. “Like I thought. Not even socks on.”

They both have shoes on with jackets thrown over their pajamas, obviously in a hurry to find her before she wandered too far. Atsushi sighs and leans over, easily scooping Chise into his arms. “This is more excitement than I’m used to on a school night.”

The walk back isn’t long, and the conversation between the siblings is light without any awkwardness that Chise expected. She wonders if they’re doing that for her sake.

Once they step onto the clean concrete of the apartment complex, Atsushi sets her down. “All right, there?”

Chise nods and stares at the ground. There’s a frog sitting by the door, almost expectantly.

Mana catches her staring and glances at the patch of wet, discolored concrete under the AC unit. She doesn’t say anything though.

When Atsushi opens the door, Chise sees Kitamoto-san with a small container of plaster, patching the punctures in the wall by the entryway. A broken chain is embedded in the wall, but he doesn't seem aware of it. She pales at the sight and steps back into Mana who grasps her shoulders and steers her forward so that she can close the door behind them.

Chise blinks at Kitamoto-san. The chains… they seem to be gone…? Oh good. That’s good. Her eyes burn and her stomach clenches. She sits right there on the cool tile of the entryway, curling her arms around her knees. That means the chains weren’t a curse, but a demon’s possession . And that demon wants her so much it left a vessel it already had.

“Chi-chan?”

“S-sorry. Can I… can I sit here for a bit?” She hasn’t stopped shivering yet.

“Hatori-chan.” Their mother stands with her arms akimbo. “Go clean up. I don’t want you catching a summer cold.”

Country folk… country folk are strange. They don’t even ask her why she ran. Why she damaged the wall or anything else. The woman can’t see them. None of them can, but they can clearly see the damage her presence wrought, so why haven’t they blamed her yet? Her eyes are drawn to the scratches in the floor, black soot staining everything the creature touched, and she stands obediently. “Yes, m’am,” she whispers and hurries to the bathroom, ignoring the oily grime clinging to the bottom of her soles. There’s not a spot on the floor in the hallway lacking the mess.

As soon as she scrubs all the dirt and bits of grass and leaves off her, she finds sluggishly bleeding scratches on the bottom of her feet. The door slides open and Mana appears holding a first aid kit. “I have bandages,” she says with a smile. “They’ve got cute little kittens on them.”

Chise stares up at her, her heart in her throat. She turns on her stool and shows Mana her feet.

She has to use multiple bandages, but soon the taller girl packs up her kit. She unfolds the clean fluffy towel flapping it open. “You know, it’s okay to tell us what happened. Hauntings are pretty common around here.” After wrapping Chise’s cold shoulders, she leaves before the redhead works up the courage to say anything.

Drawing up her legs to her chest with her fingers tightly curled in the towel, she cries.


	6. A Family Matter

Chise doesn't know how to act after that. She keeps to herself, even quieter than before. It feels safer somehow. The leftover miasma is dissipating but too slowly to make much difference to her. Everything reeks of rot and rust, like a rundown waterlogged basement. Even worse, she doesn't know how to tell them since it barely phases them.  
  
With low appetite, she excuses herself from dinner early and mumbles that she’s tired. Unable to sleep with that smell mixing with the acrid smoldering one in Mana's room, at first Chise doesn't mean to overhear part of an intense discussion.

"We can't protect her!" Voice rising above their muffled chatter, Kitamoto-san's wife sounds distressed and not at all angry.  
  
Chise’s heart thumps against her rib cage as she waits. The walls of Mana's room are thin and abut the kitchen, and while she could cover her ears and hum loudly she’s anxious to know what they’re discussing since it’s about her. She can’t hear whoever’s speaking next but again the voice of Mana’s mother rises.

"We need _help_. Atsushi is right. We can't pretend that nothing happened. She's sure to be attacked again!"

"I'll call Tanuma-san," comes the firm, loud declaration from Kitamoto-san. 

"We need an exorcist," she presses harder.  
  
"Mom, I don't think that would be a good idea." Atsushi has that polite, but determined tone which Chise has learned means he definitely thinks it’s a terrible idea. She didn’t know exorcists existed outside of history or story books, but she has learned to trust his judgment on such things.  
  
"Look at the wall and the scratches on the floor and door!" Mana’s mother yells, and Chise flinches. Kitamoto-san shushes his wife. Her tone while heated drops to a quieter one. "Remember that futon and the scorched tatami mats? If a bad spirit is strong enough to affect things, then a simple charm won't cut it. We need an expert."  
  
The other room goes silent. Chise pulls the blanket over her mouth as she stares up at the ceiling. Then Atsushi says, "We do not want to be indebted to exorcists. Once they get involved, we wouldn't be able to keep them away. And they might want to take Chise-chan and force her to become one of them."  
  
The following silence makes her hyper aware of her breathing and how it echoes off the walls of Mana’s room. The apartment is blessedly empty of creatures and the shadows still don't wriggle, despite the hanging, clingy odor. 

In that moment, she thinks of the UnSeeing priests and their visits bringing gifts of amulets and purifying chants which gave little to no effect. In all those scant visits, they never threatened to take her away. She hates the thought of being parted from the Kitamoto’s little family, though she’s come to expect it. If Atsushi says it's true, then it must be. Exorcists, then, are not to be trusted.  
  
"We wouldn't let that happen." Mana is firm with solid conviction as if puny exorcists could never do such a thing. Chise is a bit stunned at her unshaken belief.  
  
There's a loud sigh. "Mana, I know you hate it when I take too long to explain things. So, I'll say this. Exorcists are always looking for rare talents like the ones Chise-chan has. Haven't you noticed how some of our friends moved away after they claimed they could see or talk to spirits?" He gives his family a moment to digest that. "Do you know any of them that were truly serious about their claim of seeing ghosts or ayakashi, who stayed in town or remained nearby?"  
  
"I... Haven't thought about that in a long time, but I knew someone like that," his mother says, her voice tight with concern.   
  
Someone sighs with a loud huff, but says nothing else. Chise thinks it's Mana. She can imagine her with her arms crossed and frowning and it makes Chise smile a little bit. Mana hates losing.  
  
"Then it's settled," Kitamoto-san says and claps a hand to his thigh. “It’s not too late. I’ll give Tanuma-san a call.”

“If this happens again, then we agree that an exorcist may be necessary?” Mana’s sharp voice carries easily. “I love Chi-chan, but we can’t protect her from something we can’t see.”

“Yes,” agrees her mother. “If things don’t improve after Tanuma-san’s visit, then we’ll call one in as a last resort.”

If it came to that, Chise wouldn’t stick around to be dragged away like that… Even so, she wouldn't want to leave the Kitamotos. They were too kind to her even now.

Chise’s eyes droop down and her body relaxes enough that she finally manages to fall asleep.

* * *

“I want to go,” she repeats stiffly. She's terribly sleepy, since she kept waking up through the night, and has been trying to act normal. Chise hates demanding anything, but she can’t stand the thought of staying in this putrid place all day pretending to sleep. “I’ll be okay. And if I’m not I’ll-I’ll go to the nurse and tell them I feel sick enough to go home.”

Kitamoto-san blows out air at the cropped strands poking over his forehead and un-crosses his arms. “If you insist,” he relents.

“Thank you.”

“But the moment something happens, keep yourself safe. Whatever happens, even if it destroys school property, your safety is all you need to concern yourself with. I will take care of the collateral effects.”

She straightens from her bow, giving him a surprised look. Ever since she 'woke up' at a decent hour this time, this family is acting completely normal as if Seeing _invisible_ _others_ weren’t such a cause for concern or a sign of a disturbed mind. She supposes they will keep pretending until somebody gets seriously hurt because of her. She doesn’t know why that makes her eyes water, but she blinks enough that they return to normal without spilling a drop.

He smiles gently.

“Okay,” she mumbles, fumbling with the hem of her shirt.

“And have Mana ride with you to school.”

Chise glances at her, but the teen only pauses from washing up their breakfast dishes and gives her a thumb’s up with a ‘Will do, Dad!’

All through breakfast, Atsushi had been quiet and frowning to himself, even now as he slips on his shoes. At first Chise thought it had something to do with her, but since he kept looking off distractedly… High schoolers had finals soon, right?

“Leaving early?” Kitamoto-san asks looking a bit surprised.

“Yeah, I have something to do before I go to school. Don’t worry. I won’t be late; I promise.” Atsushi takes hold of his bag and opens the door to the morning dawn. “See you later.”

“Take care!” Mana calls back cheerfully.

The door shuts behind him, and Chise and Mana finish their morning routine as Kitamoto-san finishes reading his newspaper.

As they're biking to school, Chise feels much lighter than ever before as if a weight has lifted from her. If she spread her arms out, would she take flight? She tries and immediately crashes, though is unhurt. Grass-stained and scuffed up, she grins up at Mana, whose concern melts away at Chise's bright expression.

"You weirdo! I was really worried about you." With a subdued giggle, Mana helps her up. "You need to practice before doing something crazy like that." She picks grass out of Chise's hair and brushes it down, fussing over her uniform. Chise lets her because it's a nice feeling, even if it was kind of embarrassing in a public place.

"Can you give me a hint?" Chise asks, feeling shy. She really wants to try pedaling the bike without steering it.

"If you want to do something like that, you have to be going faster on a straight, flat part of the road, while keeping your body still and balanced." Mana looks at the time on her flip phone and tuts. "Ugh! We need to hurry, or I'll be late to school!"

Without another word, they hop onto their bikes and race to Chise's school. Of course, being a veteran at that, Mana wins, but Chise doesn't mind at all. She's never been very competitive, though she's seen that streak in the Kitamoto siblings' interactions.

"I have club activities, so won't be able to bike home with you. I'll see you later! Be safe and try not to be too serious, Chi-chan!"

Still catching her breath, Chise nods and calmly watches Mana bike away. She locks her bike up and heads into school.


	7. The Boy Who Sees

Going to school wasn’t as difficult as coming home. Maybe that’s because Mana had her afterschool activities so Chise is left alone biking down the road. Well, as alone as one can be with so many creatures around… and one otherworldly woman wearing another stunning kimono and a gorgeous hair pin in her purple hair.

The woman, Hinoe, has been around Chise’s school all day, smoking a pipe while perching in a tree by her classroom windows. She follows her home as well, skating across the concrete as if she has wheels under feet. Normally, Chise would mind her presence, but after that demon’s nasty attack she badly pretends she can’t see her. Quietly alert, Hinoe doesn’t seem like she’s bothered by the cold shoulder.

When she arrives at the Kitamotos' place, there is already a gathering of creatures in all shapes, sizes, and colors. As she gets off her bike and pushes it towards them, they turn and part before her, voices suddenly dropping to a whisper. She locks up her bike on the worn rack with the crawling feeling of their eyes on her and then unlocks the front door. She completely ignores the pile of vegetables on the ground outside that somehow has collected under the kitchen window.

Pushing the door open, it’s still dank inside and the gross smell hasn’t improved any, but she slides her shoes off anyway and leaves her bag by the door. As she’s stepping out of the entryway, she flicks on the light and in the middle of the dark living room there’s a statue, a white lucky cat with half orange and gray on its back, lying on its stomach and it’s… it’s _alive_ , moving in ways ceramic really shouldn’t.

She peers at it from across the kitchen and suddenly she sees a shadow filling the room, its edges outlined in gleaming silver. She inches back, head sweeping to try to take in its exact size. She stumbles against the kitchen counter with a gasp.

This is bad, her instinct whispers as she takes in the sight of two-thirds of the _other_ possessing the lucky cat statue. The huge spirit-body is like a hand trying to cram itself into a too-small glove. In other less sinister circumstances, it might have been a funny sight.

Its painted eyes rasp as it stares at her, its not-joints bending in improbable ways. Her throat closes up as her brain tries to process what she’s seeing. “Oi, brat,” It grinds out. Its bulgy body bobs in an insect-like fashion, paws barely grazing the floor as it carries its way towards her. The rest of its too-large body—wispy torso, hind legs and tail—juts out of the top of the statue, floating and weaving as its puppet-vessel moves closer and closer. “That demon didn’t touch you, did it?”

Flinging herself away from the counter, Chise screams in terror and runs towards her room. Slamming the door shut behind her, her eyes rove around the enclosed space. What was she _thinking_? She ran the wrong way! She quickly slides the closet door open and drops to the floor under Mana’s hanging clothes, closing it quietly.

“Rude!” Chuffs the statue from the other side of the door.

“Go away!”

“You thankless brat,” it yerowls at her through the door, and after some scampering and grunting Chise hears the knob turn.

“If you want to waste away from a curse, suit yourself,” it complains like an old man. “But I don't want to deal with the whining and crying later! It's too much trouble!” When she doesn't respond, it hmphs loudly.

There's a sound like gas expanding, and Chise can't overcome the driving curiosity to take a peek. When she does, a giant, white-furred open maw with lots of sharp teeth is poking through the doorway, an eye slanted in her direction, hot moist breath stirring the air in the room.

Panicking, she slides the door hard shut and back-slides with her limbs into the tight corner with a thump. “GO AWAY, YOU MONSTER!” She covers her head and face protectively with her arms. This one looks like it ate big prey; maybe it ate humans too.

There's a heavy scoff. “Humans are so hopeless.” There's a loud pop and the grumpy old man's voice is back. “Oh well, there's plenty to drink outside.” Impossibly soft tapping and clicking sounds occur as it manipulates the statue down the hall.

Once she is truly alone, she’s able to calm down. There are some truly unnerving things that exist, she thinks to herself, but if that creature had meant to hurt her it wouldn’t have left her alone. There’s a tad of guilt there from her reaction, yet she stays put deciding she feels safer where she’s at. She can hear the gathering has gotten louder outside and isn’t keen to venture outside where that creature is.

It is barely a half hour later that Atsushi introduces ‘Summer-Eye’ to her.

His thin, delicate form makes her suspect he was human, since his presence contains that which other people, other humans, lack. He sucks the air out of space simply by occupying it, like some extremely big _things_ do, like his not-a-cat does.

It is his eyes that alerted her to his humanity, despite the slight golden tinge to the brown and abnormally slit pupils. His eyes are kind ones with heavy wariness hiding behind the veneer of concern he emotes at her.

Creatures try to play human but they make poor mimickers. They don’t fit so well; to her it was stunningly easy to pick them out, no matter how human their appearance. There was always something off about them, even the ones who were very nearly human in every way. She trusts her senses, and so decides that Natsume-san is human and a powerful one at that.

He can See, too. Usually, she would say people who claimed such things were liars because they really couldn’t and were only pretending. This time, it never crosses her mind to question it.

What concerns her, besides the spine-chilling movements of his not-a-cat bodyguard, is the amount of _others_ faintly whispering from the tan messenger bag that never leaves Natsume-san’s person. It both fascinates her and creeps her out. She’s afraid to ask since he doesn’t mind the puppet-vessel crawling onto his shoulder, when the rest of the spirit is spilling out behind him like a giant banner screaming ‘DANGER’ in red and white. She wonders if Natsume-san does that on purpose to keep the other beings scared of him.

Truthfully, she is exhausted from another attack by a bad spirit and her tears and the Kitamoto siblings’ hovering. But, Mana is there to help her pack an overnight bag after Natsume’s foster mother okays Natsume-san’s request to allow Chise’s sudden overnight visit. The Kitamoto adults aren’t even home yet, though she was assured by Atsushi that they would be fine with it once he explained the situation to them, and supposedly a priest would be arriving soon to ‘purify’ their apartment. The place is foul, so she truly hopes the priest fixes the problem.

As he waited for Atsushi to be done with the phone, Natsume-san has steadily gotten closer to Chise's fan displayed on the wall, inspecting it with a quiet air better suited for a museum. When she's not watching the not-a-cat, she's watching Natsume-san and trying not to since it's ill-mannered when Mana has been trying to get her to talk.

Duffle bag set beside her, Chise remains curled up in the living room corner and rests her chin on her knees which are wrapped loosely with her arms. A proper distance away, the not-a-cat has laid on its legs near her and hasn’t stopped staring at her with narrowed eyes. Its spirit is still protruding and swelling where it connects to its inert vessel, making her slightly queasy every time she looks too long.

Earlier, when it abandoned that hideous form to destroy the black slime creature, its silver form looked beautiful. It’s majestic and fox-like and overflowing with a potent, but calming aura. She wonders why it insists on cramming itself in a tiny vessel. It couldn’t be comfortable for creatures like that to retain a physical body.

Remaining a constant source of cheer, Mana kneels slightly off-center and across from her and keeps her company with totally irrelevant, and truthfully boring, subjects. Every time Chise tries to listen, her eyes start to close and she can't afford to sleep now. So she's fidgeting, eyes darting from one side of the room to the other and then back to Mana. When Atsushi is back from speaking to his parents on his mobile phone, Mana finally stands to stretch. “Is she good to go then?”

“Yeah, but I think they’ll want to personally visit the Fujiwaras later.” Atsushi meets Natsume-san’s blankly attentive expression. “I told them your place already had defenses against this sort of problem. I hope that’s okay.”

Natsume-san lifts his shoulders. “I don’t know if it is,” he answers honestly. He looks worried.

Mana’s brother gives him a look halfway from consternation inching along to exasperation. However, he doesn’t prod at it. “You ready to go, Chise-chan?”

Is it really okay that she’s leaving? Will the Kitamotos even want her back? Her fingers curl, digging into her legs, and she takes a deep breath. Atsushi has gotten more familiar with her. That’s a good sign right? She nods. “Mhm.”

“We should go before Tanuma’s dad arrives and begins his work,” Natsume-san says, neatly avoiding more talk on the topic of his foster parents. “His energy isn’t dangerous to us, but it’s… prickly. I’m not sure how sensitive Hatori-chan will be to it.”

“How bad is it?” Atsushi is looking at Natsume-san with the same kind of concern he’s aimed at Chise. “And be honest.”

The other high schooler shrugs a bit. “…I guess I was knocked down the first time it swept over me. It’s…” Natsume-san fumbles for words, looking towards the window as his right hand flitted to the strap of his whispering messenger bag. “Each time he sends a purification pulse out, it’s like a surge of static and a sonic boom of wind crashing down on you. Surprising at first, but nothing terrible.”

With a scoff, Atsushi shakes his head and aggressively steps forward, gently pushing Natsume-san towards the door. “Yep, you’re both going before they show up.” He looks to Mana and then to Chise. “Did you want to take any of these vegetables with you to the Fujiwaras? I can bag some up.”

Chise offers a tiny nod as Mana hops to her feet and offers a hand up for her. “Thanks.” Brushing her skirt down, Chise leans to grab her duffle bag and heads towards the door. The not-a-cat follows her, causing the muscles in her shoulders to bunch before she forces them to relax. “Are we walking?”

“Biking,” Natsume-san says with that quiet air of his. He certainly doesn’t act like any kind of high schooler she knew before. “We can use the basket on my bike for the veggies. Touko-san will love them.” He takes the over-full grocery bag from Atsushi with a smile.

Turning to the Kitamoto siblings, Chise bows. “Thank you.” And she means it from the bottom of her heart. _Thank you for not hurting me. Thank you for accepting me._

“We’ll see each other again soon.” Mana pulls Chise’s hand into a firm clasp, while Atsushi pats her ducked head. Like always, it gives her a heady rush, the way they give out easy touches like it’s no big deal, like she doesn’t carry the plague. With one last squeeze, Mana drops her hand and dips her fingers under Chise’s chin momentarily. “Try to keep your head up. The Fujiwaras are even nicer than we are.” Then she leans forward with an impish curl on her lips. “Natsume’s mom will fuss over you if she sees you downcast. If you don’t want that much attention, chin up, okay?”

“Okay,” Chise murmurs, nodding her head down. Her free hand grips her skirt. She’s never been able to do what Mana suggests, though. Her eyes remain firmly pointed towards the ground.

She hears the door open. “Well, we’re off,” Natsume-san’s voice carries with a confidence that Chise envies. The party of creatures outside washes over them both. She feels calmer than she did when she arrived from school, probably because Natsume-san is taking it in stride.

Even with the noise of the party, Chise can hear the Kitamoto siblings’ parting, “Take care!”

The door shuts again, and Natsume-san reaches for the bike leaning against the wall. There’s a tray of offerings in little saucers by the door. She crouches by it, holding onto the duffle bag firmly so it doesn’t fall off her shoulder.

“Oh, they left that for you. I guess you can take whatever you want…” He smiles awkwardly.

“Huh.” Crouching next to it, she dips a finger into the first saucer and tastes the drop of liquid left on it. A little parched, she drinks it and sets it down.

Natsume makes a noise, and she blinks up at him. “Uh…? Oh. It was just water.” As she sets the saucer back down, he seems relieved to hear that. Then she samples the second saucer and grimaces. Salt. The last one is washed rice she knows, so she doesn’t bother trying it.

Standing up, she gives Natsume-san a bewildered look. “Why are they offering this to me like some shrine-kami? That’s weird.”

He shrugs, straddling his bike with a basket full of fresh veggies. The tan messenger bag is where it’s always been, the whispering hardly heard over the sound of their feet scraping on the concrete. “Maybe, they really like you…?” His eyes drift off. She stares when she realizes that he lies like a kid half his age.

She ignores it for now. What’s more worrisome is that a hush has fallen over the gathered beings watching them. All those reverent eyes unnerve her. Calmly, she unlocks her bike and directs it to the full parking lot. Immediately a path opens for her. She doesn’t miss Natsume-san’s frozen moment of surprise.

“Hatori Chise-sama,” comes a deep murmur passing through the crowd like a ripple in a pond. Some even avert their eyes away when she looks at them.

Clumsily getting on her bike, she’s a bit unsteady with the duffle bag, but she manages. Natsume-san is right behind her by the sound of it. She’s able to breathe once they pass the outermost ring of _others_. Natsume-san pedals faster to ride beside her.

“Natsume-sama! Natsume-sama! We want to escort the Beggey too!” Two creatures wearing old fashioned yukatas with black robes over top waved banners that read ‘Gathering of Dogs’ and ‘Small Folk Are Welcome!!’

She slows and tilts her head at the single-horned gray-skinned Oni and the dual-horned, bovine-faced creature beside him. They gasp and bow their heads down as they run with them.

Flustered, she looks away. Natsume-san answers firmly, “She doesn't want any of you hanging around. You'll disturb her rest.”

“Our many apologies, Precious One!” “Please forgive our impertinence!” The two finally stop chasing them, and as soon as they're out of sight, Natsume-san lets out a deep sigh. “Sorry, they're friendly but often they take things too far. Figured you wouldn't want to have to deal with that now.”

“Thanks,” she mumbles. They're heading to the other side of town where most of the rice fields sat. They continued quietly until her curiosity bursts. “If they’re leaving offerings, does that mean they worship me? Or is that their way of trying to get in my good graces?” She can’t really side-eye Natsume-san, since it takes most of her focus to not fall off her bike, considering she only just learned less than a week ago. She's not used to the lopsided weight of the duffle bag and can really feel the exhaustion from everything's that happened since she moved here.

“I don’t know. They act like they might.” He sounds uncomfortable, so she doesn’t bring it up again on their trek to his house.

Mostly, she notices the nods of acknowledgement by people towards Natsume-san as they pass. He smiles and waves. A few tell him to hurry it up or Touko-san will worry. His smile doesn’t waver.

Well, it does when she crashes into a telephone pole because she’s gazing at two otherworldly winged people dressed in contrasting colors, hovering in the air. They had only gotten her attention in the first place because the one in all-black was calling out that it would rain. Dazed with eyes fixed at the now-empty sky above, she rubs her shoulder. She almost feels like she could curl up like that and fall asleep.

“Are you alright?”

“Ow,” she winces. A bit frantic, Natsume-san had jumped off his bike to check on her, and she allows his scrutiny because he’s keeping his distance.

Most of the impact hit her shoulder and thigh when she fell over, and it’ll bruise, but she’s not bleeding everywhere so that’s a plus. “Barely scraped knees. Maybe some bruises.” She gets up, taking some time to figure out how to disentangle herself from bag and bike, and bows her head. “Sorry, I got distracted.”

“It’s okay. I can relate. We can take care of the scrapes when we get to the Fujiwaras’ place.” He gets on his own bike, waiting patiently for her to gather her bag and bike before starting off again.

It’s at this moment that she notices that the not-a-cat has been keeping up with them. She turns her head to look directly up at it on the stone fence, and the not-a-cat’s staring down at her. She looks away and gets back on her bike, hiding the wince when her ankle twinges.

Quietly, they leave town behind and enter an area rich with rice paddies. There’s a river for most of the way too, but Chise is tired and doesn’t want to risk falling over again simply because she wants to take in the scenery.

The sky is still bright as the days in the summer are long, so the sun is steadily heading towards early evening. It seems later since dark clouds are forming on the horizon, and Chise can smell the rain in the distance even if there’s no thunder yet.

When Natsume-san stops at the stone gate at the first house where a cluster of four large houses stand at the edge of the forest, Chise has to drop her feet down to stop in time. She turns to look at the two-story building that he lives in and thinks that it’s much too big for only three people.

He glances around a moment and then looks at her seriously. “Hatori-chan… could you try not telling them that I can... see things others can’t?”

She stares at him. His face looks like he’s in great pain at the thought of her blurting out what she often holds close to her chest. The fact that she told Atsushi and Mana point blank and wasn't immediately rejected is still hard for her to absorb. “We can’t trust them?” Because she’s curious how he can look so troubled about it.

“…It’s not that.” Natsume-san sighs deeply.

“You’re afraid they’ll be really hurt one day by what you See…? That they’ll fall sick and have to go to the hospital…” She knows what that feels like. She can’t imagine how that must feel with people you truly cared about.

“…I. Well, there’s precautions in place so that doesn’t happen and I chase out anything that comes after them.”

She blinks at him slowly, trying to process what he said. “Then why not?”

“Stress isn’t good for older adults. They can die if they get too much of it.”

Natsume-san really sounds like he believes it. Chise opens her mouth and then decides it’s probably better not to argue. She supposes he doesn’t know how young he sounds, how scared and small his tone gets. She understands fear, has felt it inside and out for too long to not sympathize. If it gives him peace of mind… She reaches out and snags a hand on his sleeve like she often does with Atsushi. “I won’t tell them your secret.”

His head bows and his face creases into a deep, relieved smile. Dropping her hand from his sleeve, her eyelashes flutter in surprise, not realizing how ingenuine his usual ones were until that moment.

“Rain’s a-coming! Rain’s a-coming!”

Chise turns to stare at the two winged beings content to perch at the highest branch of the tree in the yard of the Fujiwaras’ property. They are striking in flowing, billowing robes. The one making the calls is dark-skinned, dark-eyed, black-haired with robes of the deepest midnight blue and a cloak of black feathers. The silent one is practically translucent in its bleached white kimono and pearlescent ivory obi, with platinum hair, silver eyes, and pale, pale skin. They look at Chise with mute interest before turning their gaze back to the front of the house where a woman in an apron appears, bustling towards Natsume-san and Chise.

“Ah, hello, Hatori-chan,” she says in rush before turning to the Natsume-san, “Takashi-kun! Quick, get those bikes put away and come help me with the laundry!!”

At that moment thunder rolls in the distance, and it has grown dark. A gust of breeze causes leaves and dust to scatter and disperse.

“Right!” Natsume-san pauses, “Hatori-chan, follow me.”

She half-runs after him to do just that. After closing the shed, with a bag overflowing with veggies on an arm, Natsume-san jogs back to the woman who’s frantically bundling up the linens, towels, and clothing on the line.

Hitching her bag up on her shoulder, Chise looks up at the two in the tree and isn’t surprised to see that they’re sharing a large, red umbrella. The two are quite comfortable in each other’s company.

There’s a crash of thunder even closer and without warning huge raindrops splatter on her face. She gasps from the suddenness of it and reaches up to touch the wet marks. Then, the clouds pour rain down, wetting the earth under her shoes in seconds.

“Hatori-chan, hurry, hurry!” The woman calls to her, but it feels a bit far away now.

Standing in the cool rain, Chise looks around and sees how everything has turned gray by the sudden downpour and how the ground is steadily becoming so saturated that it’s muddy. She looks back at the top of the tree, and the silent one raises a delicate arm and waves towards her in a shooing motion. In the distance beyond them, she can see a massive reptilian bird dancing in the sky. Scales of purple-red flicker as it flies in loops and circles, sending off branches of lightning at each whip of its feathered tail followed by booming thunder.

Mouth parting, Chise stares in awe at the sight. There are two little ones beside the large one, letting loose their own tendrils of lightning as well.

There’s splashing behind her, and the rain no longer touches her, though it’s spattering her legs. She looks up at Natsume-san who’s holding an umbrella over her. “The crows are friends of Touko-san,” he says hurriedly, “Ever since she helped the black one out, it warns her about impending rain like this.”

“Oh.” With one last look at the birds—dragons?—Chise turns with Natsume-san and heads to the entryway of the two-story house. “Then regular people see and hear them as crows?” She looks over her shoulder at the two contentedly still in the tree, their focus on the sky-dancing dragons.

Natsume-san pauses, and Chise looks up at him curiously.

His smile is disingenuous, and he nods. “Well, Touko-san only sees and hears the black one cawing.”

She continues into the house after him, a little confused at his reaction, and sets her bag down. She tries not to think too deeply about why he smiled funny while she removes her wet shoes and socks with more effort than usual, the soaked bandaids sliding off her feet. Her fingers are cold from the rain and stiff from lack of rest. The scratches on the soles of her feet sting, probably from the dirt, but they don't hurt that badly. She'll have to clean them as well as the scrape on her leg so they don't get infected.

After lightly scolding Natsume for not taking two umbrellas out and getting rained on himself, Fujiwara Touko turns her full attention on Chise, who strongly suppresses the urge to hide behind Natsume-san and completely forgets to greet her properly. “My, my. You need to dry off or Noriko-san would scold me if I let her youngest get sick!”

Without further preamble, Chise stands still as Touko-san rubs a dry towel in her hair and wraps it around her. “You’ll need to get out of those clothes. You’re soaking wet!” The woman takes the sopping duffle bag. “Oh dear, everything in here will probably be wet. I know I have some clothes you can borrow, while I lay these out for you.” She chides softly, “Hatori-chan, next time you hear that crow caw, you should head inside immediately.”

She tilts her head curiously at the strange woman. “Okay?” There was not one word about the amount of mud that the both of them had tracked into the entryway. It was certainly different.

Wrapping a second huge towel around her dripping clothes, Touko-san turns to her foster son. “Takashi-kun, be a good host and show her the room adjacent to yours. Hatori-chan, I’ll be by with some dry clothes, okay?”

Before Chise can apologize, Touko-san pats the towel on her head and says, “Don’t worry about it! But you need to get out of those clothes before you catch a fever.”

Chise gazes up at this kind woman and sees why Natsume-san wants to protect her so badly. “Okay, Fujiwara-san,” she mumbles, ducking her head down.

“This way Hatori-chan.” They slip into guest slippers, and Chise follows Natsume-san and his bag of whispers up the stairs.

The room looks like it's generally used for storage when it's not entertaining guests. There’s a folded futon with blankets and a pillow stacked by the wall. At least, the view from the window is nice. Even if it’s mostly blurry trees through the torrential rain. She tilts her head at an angle through the window. She can sort of see the tree with the crow-people in it, but she would have to stick her head out to get a better look and she wasn't willing to do that.

Natsume-san’s muttering turns her attention back to him. She watches as he slaps a slip of paper with scribbling on it on each wall of the room and above the doorway. He steps back to the center of the room with his hands clasped together. “And let no shadows who harbor evil and misfortune into this space!” He didn’t yell, but his voice was forceful, expecting his demand to be met.

In response, a bright buzzing fills the room causing the hairs on the nape of her neck to rise. The rectangular pieces of paper take on a yellow glow of their own. Each flashes at its own pace until the pattern slows like a pulse, and they sync up, flaring white as one. Chise closes her eyes in reflex, and then the heavy air settles around her. She blinks at Natsume who lets out of a breath and without warning collapses onto his knees.

Rushing to him, she drops next to him. “Natsume-san?”

He smiles and squints at her. “I might have overdone it. Here. Help me up.” He adjusts himself and she grabs one hand with her two, leaning back as far as she can. He stumbles to his feet, and she catches herself before falling herself. Dropping her hands to her side, she peers up at him curiously and then looks pointedly at the paper.

“This room is protected now. You won’t have any of the problems you did at the Kitamotos inside this room.”

Her eyes widen as she clutches the wet towel on her shoulders. “Really? That’s amazing!” When Natsume-san nods, Chise happily spins in place, swinging her arms with the movement. She imagines keeping all the worst types out and then thinks of Atsushi and Mana and the Kitamoto adults. Suddenly, she realizes he’s standing there watching as she clumsily danced around and so she stops, toes curling inside the guest slippers and soles stinging. “Um. Do you think you could teach me?”

“Yeah, if you want,” he says with a tired smile. His skin looks a lot paler now. Whatever he did to the room must have taken too much… of what she’s not sure. Energy? What did that not-a-cat say… spiritual power, right?

Chise worries at her bottom lip with her teeth wondering if she could even manage it.

“Hatori-chan!” Arms full of folded clothes, Touko-san tsks as she stands by the open door. “Takashi-kun, could you watch the eggplant curry? She needs out of those clothes.”

“Sure thing, Touko-san.” He smiles at Hatori-chan and shuts the door behind him.

“These are some old clothes of mine, so they may be a bit too big for you, but they should do for tonight. If you want, you have time to take a hot bath before dinner.”

Chise accepts them and holds them against her chest. “Thank you, Fujiwara-san.”

“Oh, call me Touko.”

“Alright, Touko…-san.” Chise startles a bit when Touko-san beams at Chise like she had done something so wonderful.

“I know it can be embarrassing nowadays for girls your age, but if you need help with anything please call for me.” She holds a hand against her mouth. “Oh! I should leave you to it. You must be _freezing_ by now. Maybe you really ought to get in the bath…”

“Don’t worry. I don’t get sick easily, just really anemic now and then.”

“Is that so? Well, tonight’s meal has plenty of meat. There was a sale in town. Here. Let me take those wet towels before I go.” With another pleasant smile, Touko-san collects the towels. “Please bring your wet clothes down so I can take care of them, alright?”

“Yes, m’am.”

As Touko-san leaves, she’s speaking to herself, “My, my, so polite. At her age, I was a little rascal.”

Chise strips off the sodden clothes, setting them on a chair, and switches into the light cotton green dress, breathable ankle-high socks, and soft pajama pants. Her hair is still damp and probably looks like a mess, but her bag is still downstairs. She bundles up the sodden clothes and opens the door. The not-a-cat is sitting right there. Without meaning to, her eyes trail up at its ridiculously long, wispy tail. “What do you want?” She asks quietly.

The statue creaks as it taps the space before the door, and sparks fly. “That stupid boy overdid it.”

She didn’t see this as a bad thing since it couldn’t get inside, so she doesn’t respond as she heads to the stairs.

“Sleih Beggey. You know your fate, don’t you?”

She pauses, but doesn’t look at the not-a-cat. “And?”

“If Natsume finds out, he won’t let you go so easily. That troublesome boy doesn’t believe in lost causes.”

Her hands tighten, growing wet from the bundle. “He’s very kind, but he pushes himself too much.”

“O-ho…” The possessed statue sounds impressed. “Then you understand why he mustn’t find out.”

Chise hums in affirmative and continues down the stairs. Her smile when she passes the clothes to Touko-san is tight, and the woman’s eyes flutter in askance though she doesn’t yet pry.

She stops in the bathroom to clean her legs and feet, tending to the healing wounds gingerly. She slips the socks back on, uses the toilet, and washes her hand before exiting.

She slips past as the other two putter in the kitchen making small talk. Chise has no idea what her fate is or what knowledge the so-called bodyguard is trying to keep from Natsume-san. It’s probably bad news based off how twitchy it made the spirit.

Part of her doesn’t want to know, but her entire life has been bad news until now. It can’t be any worse than the moment her mom looked her right in the eyes as she ran away from her, tipping backwards over the terrace, and left Chise all alone with a bruised throat and swollen regrets.

She breathes in deeply, calming herself, and takes a good look around in the large open room she found herself in.

The shadows wriggle.


	8. The Understanding Ones

Dinner is always a nerve-racking experience, especially with strangers. As nice as the Fujiwaras are and even with Natsume-san’s reassurance, they are unknown to Chise. Conversation around her is light and cheerful, and Chise curls her shoulders inwards as she tries to keep herself unnoticeable. Shigeru-san is a kind man with understanding eyes that seem to stare right into her, despite her best attempts. It’s unsettling, and part of her doesn’t mind it much. Besides she’s more worried about the shadows.

The Fujiwaras and their foster son eat heartily and banter back and forth like a happy family should, so why do the shadows wriggle? Is it because Natsume-san lies to them?

She looks at the intimidating spread of homecooked food before her. She can tell that Touko-san is a good cook; the curry dish smells so yummy, but her eyes don’t deceive her.

Eyeless black worms with large teeth and black tongues dive into her food leaving trails of gray mucus. Her eyes burn at the unhappy sight, so she swallows, forcing the tears down. She has learned to remain seated, knowing she can’t leave yet, not without suspicion. She’s forced to endure and sits only an arm’s reach away from the gross display. Despite her hunger, her appetite fails whenever these _things_ show up and foist slime on her meal. It’s like they’re tainting it in the hope she’ll eat it. Her stomach lurches a bit but she takes in a quiet breath and closes her eyes letting the voices around her wash over her soothingly.

She would have been happier never to see the worms again, but over and over again out of nowhere they show up, only interested in her food. She knows she needs to eat so she opens her eyes. Her stomach grows queasy as they continue making a revolting mess like slobbering slugs. At least the plump white rice is left alone. She picks up the bowl scooping a few grains to her lips at a time, trying to savor them and only manages one or two full bites before setting it back down. At least the worms don’t stink at this distance.

Then, for whatever reason Touko-san has to mention that _Chise_ is the reason for the fresh eggplant in the curry. She barely lifts her head up to look at her and then glances at the other two, trying to ignore the unpleasant squelching coming from her plate.

The silence feels really heavy, heavier than normal, and their scrutiny feels like icy and ragged nails pressed to the back of her neck. Unpleasant is putting it lightly; she can already feel herself break out into a light sweat.

Natsume-san opens his mouth and the inevitable question pours out. “Hatori-chan, are you feeling unwell?”

Her hands clench in her lap. She’s trying to breathe but it feels like too much. Because…

Because he wouldn’t ask that if he could see them.

Her mind flies through her options. She shouldn’t say what the problem is, not if she means to keep Natsume’s secret. “I’m… I’m okay.” And she was, mostly. Normally, this was where she lies, where she lies about not being hungry and excuses herself from dinner so she can get away from the scene on her plate. She wants to be polite and she really likes the Fujiwaras despite they’re being utter strangers, so she compliments the presentation of the food.

Natsume won’t have it though. He won’t let it go and prods again, so she makes herself smaller and lies, “….I… don’t feel hungry.” She doesn’t want to insult Touko-san so she says how tasty it looks even while her eyes burn and stomach cramps. She can’t bear to look at any of them. She feels like she’s messed up.

Then her attention is caught by movement at the corner of her eyes and her eyes slide away from her lap to the ground. Beside her chair, the not-a-cat is scraping a bit of curry from its chubby ceramic face, the rest of its spirit floating behind him. “Give-nya! Food-nya!”

“Oh. Um,” distracted by the strange request, she barely remembers that she has an audience as her attention is held by her plate. “Um.” The not-a-cat pats her leg insistently. But, she has to touch the plate while things are squirming all over it. She wrinkles her nose with a thoughtful frown. As long as they don’t touch her she’ll be okay, right? After wetting her suddenly dry lips, she grabs the plate, and the smell of bugs and earth assasils her. She quickly puts it on the floor, wrenching her hands away when the worms sigh and snap their teeth at her lazily. They seem anchored to it though, so as long as she’s a few inches away they can’t get her. “Like this, Nyanko-sensei?”

“Purr-fect,” it purrs in a manner close to a croon. Then it idly toddles over to Natsume-san’s legs and viciously attacks the left one with measured swipe of its right paw. Chise winces when Natsume-san yelps. Then she looks over the edge of the table at the Fujiwaras when she realizes they haven’t complained once about her weird behavior or told her to stop. They’re looking on curiously.

Then, Natsume-san ducks down under the table to hiss a question at Nyanko-sensei. Taking her curious eyes from her foster son, Touko-san blinks at Chise and smiles quietly, while Shigeru-san carefully watches without a word.

Chise is trying not to look too baffled at their total acceptance of the strange happenings around them.

Touko-san lifts a finger to her lips and winks at Chise. “Takashi-kun?” She says loudly enough with oblivious question in her tone that Natsume-san startles and hits his head on the bottom of the table. Chise covers her mouth as mirth suddenly fills her, afraid the laughter might escape her. Her wide eyes meet Shigeru-san’s and his lips curl briefly.

The teen laughs sheepishly as he straightens in his chair and then poorly mimes his eyes widening towards the kitchen window. Chise looks blankly in that direction absolutely puzzled at what he’s looking at. “Whoa, what is that?” He gets up and practically jumps to the kitchen window. Chise frowns a bit in confusion, wondering what he was up to.

Touko-san cheerfully follows, asking him what he sees, and with one last not-quite smile Shigeru-san is not far behind them. It was obvious that Natsume-san saw nothing; he couldn’t lie very well, and yet they went along with it without scolding him. 

Chise wonders how long they have been doing this dance with Natsume-san. Part of her is jealous of their doting, and there’s a little sadness that he refuses to open completely to them.

Then, like a soft breeze something causes her skin to tingle, and she looks down in time for a symbol like a shepherd’s crook to appear on Nyanko-sensei’s forehead. A moment later a bright, blinding light bursts forth slamming against her with a crackle. It leaves her a little breathless but unhurt. The not-a-cat smirks and lightly pushes the plate to her.

For a second, she gapes speechless as she crouches down to collect her meal which is absent of the slime and worms and muddy odor. Mouth watering in expectation, she grabs her spoon and begins piling the curry into her mouth.

It was so delicious even more than it looks and smells. It has to be the best homecooking Chise ever had; it was so good. When she’s admonished for eating too fast, she sets the spoon down between bites and drinks water. Her stomach is complaining for the opposite reason now, but it’s hard to stop eating now that she has the chance. She even takes seconds on the rice.

When she’s finally done, she doesn’t regret that she feels like she’ll have to be rolled out of her chair and down the hall. It was a really good meal. She nearly cries when Shigeru-san asks if she wants dessert. There’s no way she could eat any more. Somehow his question morphs into questions about the Kitamotos and how they’re treating her, and one by one she answers a little confused at the pleasant attention. Worrying, yes, since she wasn’t sure why he wanted to know.

Once Natsume-san and Touko-san are done with the dishes, Touko-san mentions that the Kitamotos have fostered before but not any humans. Since Touko-san couldn’t see youkai, it obviously meant they fostered animals here and there, right? Because there weren’t any in their apartment, Chise guesses they went elsewhere. Would that be her fate as well?

In the first place, it wasn’t safe for them with her around. The demon attack wouldn’t be a one-off occurrence. They would get sick or badly hurt sooner rather than later. Someone might die again. Chise knows this, but she likes the Kitamotos all the same. She wants to stay with them and knows that she can’t stay there for long. “they accept me,” she says with a tight throat and clenched fists. It feels like she can’t breathe right, not really.

But… She wants to be accepted by the Fujiwaras too. This house was big, and she wouldn’t take up any space. They had Nyanko-sensei and Natsume-san to protect them. “no one’s… no one’s welcomed me to stay after… after…”

Her secret sits at the tip of her tongue refusing to be dislodged. She trembles, overwhelmed by the fear of rejection. Everything seems to be too much in that second.

Then, Shigeru-san rests a hand on her shoulder. It calms her enough to stop shaking and she looks up at his kind face. He removes his hand, stepping away as he glances away, and Chise finally notices the distraught, conflicted expression on Natsume-san’s face. He looks so far away that he might as well not be in the suddenly silent room.

Then, Touko-san suggests they all go play karuta. The Fujiwaras were playful in their light jibes at one another and Natsume-san’s expression melts into wistfulness. He still looks lost in thought as they leave to the other room. Chise glances behind her at Natsume’s unmoving form and wonders if she would have grown as lost if she continued passing through families like a ghost.

“I’ll get the cards,” Shigeru-san says upon entering. “I think I know where I put them.” He scrummages around a bit, and then scratches his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm.”

Touko-san giggles. “You always forget every time. It’s not your fault since we don’t play as often as we used to.” She kneels next to the drawers he’d been looking through and opens the bottom one, pulling out a decorative square box. “There.”

“Ah, so that’s where they were hiding.” Accepting the box, Shigeru-san sits cross-legged on the floor. He pulls the lid from it, and there were beautiful cards stacked up neatly separated by a divider.

Still standing, Chise glances around and sees that Natsume-san is still not there.

“I’ll have Takashi-kun read first. Will that be alright Taka—tsk, he’s dawdling again,” Touko-san says with a light sigh and moves to stand.

“I’ll go get him,” Chise offers before Touko-san stands.

“Oh! Thank you Hatori-chan. He’ll need to know that since he’s last to get here, he’ll be reading for the first round!”

“Okay.” As she leaves, she hears Touko-san say, “I’ll get ten cards off of you this time!”

“Oh? You should say that when you’ve collected more than your usual five.”

Chise smiles at the two, hearing them continue as she walks down the dimly lit hall. Peering around the doorway, Natsume-san is exactly where they left him, so she approaches quietly. Reaching a hand out, she tugs on his shirt and dutifully brings him back to the room. She’s getting the impression that without the Fujiwaras anchoring him, he would have disappeared from the world. The thought makes her gloomy. It’s not fair to him or the Fujiwaras, this situation of hiding such a secret that’s so much a part of Natsume-san.

The cards are laid out to fit in a rectangle, though the center is left empty, and the Fujiwaras sit opposite of each other. Several paces back, Chise kneels in the empty spot opposite of the side with the box of the reader’s cards for Natsume-san.

Shigeru-san adjusts his glasses and smiles at Chise. “If you see a card, you can grab it. This isn’t an official match, so I don’t mind if you pull from that side. It’s Touko’s weak spot.”

Touko huffs lightly. “You scoundrel. I don’t have a weak side.”

Her husband smiles at her softly, leaning forward as Natsume begins.

Chise watches as the two play ferociously. They are reaching for the correct card, the one containing the rest of the verse Natsume-sam reads, trying to tap it first. Shigeru-san keeps getting there first and soon a small pile is to the side of him. The game is slowly coming back to Chise, though it’s been a year since she last played. Finally, Touko-san collects a card, beaming brightly and Shigeru-san congratulates her.

A ring of smoke blows beside her, and Chise looks to her right where the porch leading to the vast backyard abutting the forest is. The woman in purple and a pretty hair pin is standing there watching with amusement. “My, my. They’re playing Hundred Poets?”

Natsume-san startles mid-recitation, dropping the card in his hand. Both of his foster parents seem immediately concerned, though he waves them off and attempts not to pay attention to Hinoe. Shigeru-san glances towards the spot where Hinoe stands. Obviously, Natsume-san had looked there before going back to the game because Shigeru-san’s eyes slide past the otherworldly woman.

Chise blinks as Hinoe approaches and then leans over her.

“I want to play,” the woman decides and kneels primly right beside Chise. “Girl, you pick the cards I point at.”

Chise almost laughs at the sudden commands, but covers her mouth in time. She glances up at Hinoe looking serene and thoughtful with her pipe in mind as she smirks at Natsume-san.

The high schooler is already flustered and apparently decides this should be okay as he swipes at the card on the ground and apologizes to the Fujiwaras for the interruption. He lies through his teeth about seeing deer hop through their enclosed yard. They blink at him, but he doesn’t seem to notice their suspicious glance as he looks at the next card.

Resolving to play, Chise nods to herself and shuffles forward.

The moment Natsume-san opens his mouth, Hinoe points her pipe at a card and Chise snatches it up. The action causes the other cards to slide out of their neat rows and columns.

“Nice one!” Touko-san crows and collects the card from her adding it to the other one she’d captured.

Shigeru-san’s lip curls with a roguish gleam to his eyes. “I better step up my game.”

She isn’t fast enough to scoop them all up before Shigeru-san does, but Hinoe doesn’t seem upset by this. By the end, they lose by 10 cards. It’s impressive that Shigeru-san defended against Touko and Hinoe like that.

“Have you ever played competitive karuta?” Touko-san asks.

Chise shakes her head.

“You might be pretty good at it! I think there’s a club at your school if you’re interested.”

Looking up at Hinoe who breathes from her pipe smoke curling out from her nose and mouth, Chise tilts her head questioningly. Hinoe shrugs lightly. “It could kill time if you’re bored.”

“No, I like reading. Besides,” Chise said, giving Natsume-san a look, “It would be cheating if I played like this.”

Natsume-san freezes after taking a stack of cards from Shigeru-san, and then a blankness settles over his face when Shigeru-san glances at him.

“Why’s that?” Touko asks voice tinged with piercing interest.

Her options stretch out before her. Her mind rolls through them, and Chise realizes the opportunity to speak won’t get any better than this.

“Because my friend here was the one who knew the cards.” Chise lifts a hand to point at Hinoe who’s startled by the turn of events.

Natsume-san drops the box of cards, but with a soft ‘oh!’ Shigeru-san catches it with a nimbleness Chise wouldn’t have expected. Natsume-san rattles off an apology and Shigeru-san quietly asks if something is wrong. Natsume-san doesn’t answer.

All while Touko blinks at her for several moments. “Your friend… Hatori-chan?” She speaks slowly as if processing, not in the way Chise knows adults do when they think someone’s lying.

“Yes. She lives in the forest with the others.”

“With the others?” Touko-san echoes. This is good, Chise thinks. She swallows and takes a deep breath, hands clinging to the borrowed skirt.

“Do you think telling them is wise?” Hinoe is looking at her with a glint in her eye.

Chise turns to look at Hinoe. “Did you want me to lie and take all the credit?”

“It would be a very human thing to do.” Hinoe shrugs. “I’m bored, so I don’t care either way.” She lifts her pipe and points at Natsume-san. “But it’s a really cruel thing to do to Lord Natsume.”

Chise’s eyes take stock of Natsume’s hunched, defensive posture on the floor, knees to chin, a position she knew well. His eyes seem unfocused and he’s sweating more than he should be. Guilt takes hold and her eyes dart away from him.

Taking a fortifying breath, Chise takes stock of Touko-san’s appearance. She looks confused, yes, but also pleasantly surprised… maybe the phrase would be, taken aback? “Touko-san, what I mean is the other creatures like her. The ones almost no one can see?” It feels like a stone drops in her stomach, and a chill rakes down her back when Touko-san doesn’t say anything. Chise shouldn’t have said something after all. She ducks her head down in shame. “Never mind,” she murmurs.

She hears Touko-san shift, and her bright smile permeates her tone. “Everything okay, Takashi-kun?”

“A-ah, yeah,” he says weakly.

Chise startles a bit, eyes staring through her fringe. Natsume-san’s hands are clenched against his knees. Since a few minutes ago, his skin has taken on a pallor that looks unhealthy, so it’s no surprise when Touko-san leans forward and presses a hand against his forehead. “Oh, you’re chilled!”

She stands and quickly rummages for a blanket.

“Well,” a robust warm voice, Shigeru-san’s, fills the room, “If the neighbors are here I have just the thing.” He stands and calmly leaves the room. Now under a blanket, Natsume-san seems less hunched, but thankfully Touko-san’s attention returns to Chise.

“What’s your friend’s name, Hatori-chan?” Touko asks without the associated lilt that means an adult is humoring a kid.

Fear melting away, Chise raises her head and a hesitant hand, palm up and sways it towards Hinoe. “Her name’s Hinoe… She’s beautiful and is wearing a purple kimono with white bird patterns all over it.”

“Yo,” Hinoe says caustically, her eyes sharp as she inspects the homemaker.

“I’m pleased to have you, Hinoe. Would you like some tea and crackers?” Touko is looking towards Hinoe’s general direction but it’s obvious she can’t see or hear her.

“I’d like some sake.”

“Sake, she says,” Chise repeats, glancing towards Natsume-san.

Color has returned to his face, but he’s still absolutely silent, and it pierces the room with stinging impression.

“Oh, my. Well, I know I have a bottle worth sharing.” Touko-san stands, moving around them, and exits the room. “I’ll be right back, Hinoe-san!”

They can hear footsteps in the room above them and distinct thuds. What exactly is Shigeru-san looking for?

Chise worriedly looks around again. Natsume-san’s expression looks carved from stone as he looks back at her. She cringes and quickly looks away.

Hinoe blows out another smoke circle, smirking. “Lighten up, Natsume. There’s no harm in this. Besides, if you’re angry at Chise-chan, then you need to remember that her promise to you was to keep _your_ secret safe.”

Chise ducks her head. “I’m sorry… I don’t want to lie to them.”

His expression doesn’t change. “This will hurt them.”

“you can’t know that,” she mumbles to the floor.

Nyanko-sensei waddles in, “Oi! I heard Touko rummaging in the cabinets for sake!!” He plops down. “I want some sake, Natsume!!”

The blond high schooler lets out a deep sigh and while his face returns to its normal state he has a white-knuckled grip on the heavy blanket around his shoulders. “Cats don’t drink, sensei!”

“How dare you! I am no cat!!” Nyanko-sensei jumps onto Natsume and starts swiping at him while Natsume tussles with him.

“Huh? What’s this?” Touko-san has returned with a tray with several sake cups and a bottle. Chise hops up to help to collect the tray from Touko-san so she can fill a cup up. “Where should I put this?” She’s holding out the cup and then startles when Hinoe plucks the cup from her hand. Nyanko-sensei twines himself around Touko-san’s legs, meowing pitifully.

After taking a deep drink, Hinoe smiles. “Many thanks, Fujiwara-san. I may have cursed you if you’d given me cooking wine.”

“She says thank you.” Chise is looking up at Touko-san who is looking around in confusion.

“A-ah…” Touko-san breathes deep and smiles. “Well, Hinoe-san, you’re welcome. If you could return the cup to the right of the sink when you’re done, I would be very grateful.”

“Of course.”

“She will,” Chise parrots.

“Oi! I want some sake too!” Nyanko-sensei demands, no longer able to stand being ignored. “Give! Me! Some! Sake!”

Touko-san blinks and looks down at the lucky cat statue. Chise thinks she only heard meowing but that was before the housewife pours another cup and sets it next to the not-a-cat.

Natsume-san is staring in growing horror.

“You could hear him?” Chise tilts her head at her.

Touko-san grins. “He seems so insistent. I didn’t think sake was good for kitties though.”

Nyanko-sensei is lapping it up, humming and purring happily.

“You don’t have to worry. He’s not a real cat,” Chise says with determination. “He protects Natsume-kun and you and Shigeru-san, and he’s a really good friend of Natsume-kun’s. I wish I had someone like that.”

There’s a slight gasp, and Chise turns to see that Natsume-san is working his mouth around syllables, attempting to communicate and utterly failing. His face has returned to the worrying ashen grey color. Then he quickly rolls over, hiding under the blanket like a kid.

“Oh,” Touko-san says with a hand against her cheek, “but I’ve called you a kitty this whole time! How rude of me.”

It’s at this time that Shigeru-san walks in with a wooden case and a smile. “I hope that didn’t take too long…” He blinks. “Oh, serving the neighbors? That’s good, Touko. They’re known to lay curses on people over the most minor of offenses.”

Natsume-san has given up saying anything at all when Nyanko-sensei declares, “My noble self may be referred to as Master or Lord! Or even Madara-sama!!”

Touko-san’s hand remains on her cheek as Nyanko-sensei continues ranting in this method. “Oh, I see.” Clearly, she can’t.

Shigeru-san’s eyes sharpen on Nyanko-sensei as he rants and then looks at the blanketed mound where Natsume laid. Then he closes his eyes and rubs them with his free hand. It’s then that Chise realizes he’s holding a case in the other. “I hadn’t realized we were hosting a neighbor in our home. We’ve been very rude to you, Madara-dono. A thousand apologies.” He opens the wooden case and inside lays a beautifully carved flute.

“If I had wanted to reveal myself to you puny humans, I would have! Hmph!!” With more gusto, Nyanko-sensei slurps the sake cup clean. “MORE SAKE!!”

Chise dutifully plucks it up, and Touko-san refills it and sets it down. “Oh, your name is Madara-san?” Then, Touko-san directs to Shigeru-san. “Should I start calling him that?”

“Most neighbors prefer a moniker, but I suppose if he gave us permission it’s okay. He must be powerful enough that he’s not afraid of others using it against him.”

“you got that right! *hic* More sake! More!”

Chise leans down, plucking up the empty cup, and offers it to Touko-san who fills it and sets it back down.

A strong wind blows in with the Dogs’ Circle and a host of other creatures. Chise turns to stare at all of them. The wind had blown through the room, but thankfully nothing is overly disturbed.

“They have sake? We want some!”

Nyanko-sensei hisses. “Get your own! Buzz off or I’ll eat you!”

Reaching out a hand to tug on Touko-san’s apron, Chise stutters with a small voice, “Y-you’re going to need more cups.”

“And more sake,” Shigeru-san says mirthfully, sitting down with a flute in hand. Natsume-san hasn’t left his blanket or even moved the whole time.

“Yes, yes. I wasn’t expecting to suddenly be a host to a large party!” Touko-san bustles out, completely unable to see the gathering crowd beyond the porch.

“It’s been awhile since I played, but I should be able to manage a basic melody.”

“Oh, oh!! Fujiwara Isamu’s grandson is about to play!!” A ripple went through the crowd as several take a seat with enraptured attention. “Listen, listen!”

Shigeru-san raises the flute to his lips, and several sour notes pour out. Chise winces.

“What was that?!” Nyanko-sensei drawls angrily, flopping a paw at the flute. “My noble ears are offended by that which you consider music, human! *hic* Chise, more sake!”

Chise grabs the bottle and pours.

Taking a long breath, Shigeru-san raises the flute to his lips again, and this time a beautiful note slices through the air, followed quickly by another. The crowd is silent now.

With a wry grin, he begins a long melody.


	9. Offerings

It wasn’t until after Shigeru-san was finished with the melody that they realize that Natsume-san has fallen ill. Chise had tried to wake him up, but when that failed Shigeru-san is there pressing a hand to his foster son’s flushed face with a downturned frown. Eyes wide, Chise is wringing her hands and Touko-san is frantic at this revelation, immediately ending the festivities. Her gracious politeness terminatiing when her foster son’s health is threatened, she claps sharply moving about the room as if she might actually frighten something she can’t touch or see or hear. “Sorry everyone! Party’s over. Now, out, out, out!!” Despite her doubts, Chise is impressed at the sight.

A great many of the creatures disperse after a respectful bow towards Touko-san from the room with a gust of wind, leaving empty sake bottles and cups in their wake, and only two are left on the porch, Hinoe with her smoking pipe and the fat not-a-cat. The remaining four, kappa, oni, bovine, and a fourth Chise doesn’t recognize, stand attentively in the backyard, mindful of the garden and flower patches.

An uneasy hush falls among the creatures as the Fujiwaras check over their foster son; many of them actually seem concerned. Hinoe won’t stop tapping her pipe against her wrist, looking positively irritated. Madara meanwhile stays still, keeping an observant eye more on the other creatures than the Fujiwaras.

As the outsider, Chise watches silently as the adults focus their attention on Natsume-san. Shigeru-san checks his breathing with the back of a hand to his lips and nose, while Touko-san listens with an ear to his chest without any embarrassment.

“Probably only a fever this time,” Shigeru-san says gently and lays a careful hand on his wife’s back. “The thermometer is upstairs.”

With a sigh, Touko-san straightens, brushing a hand against Natsume’s forehead. Her face is lined with worry, but there’s a smile tinged with sadness too. “Yes… We’ll see how he feels in the morning.”

A collective sigh passes through the watching creatures and all but Madara disperse.

Natsume-san’s foster mother looks at Chise as the Fujiwaras stand. Shigeru-san is holding his foster son with a concerning amount of familiarity. Natsume-san’s eyes flutter half-open momentarily and then they close again.  The teen shifts pressing his face against his foster father’s chest with a soft noise.

“He gets sick so easily,” she says with a hand pressed to her face. “It must be stress-related. He never handles surprises or change very well.”

“Oh,” Chise utters quietly. She had heard that before, about his penchant to get sick, but she didn’t know what it meant until then. She was never close to frail people, whether because she couldn’t get to know them well since she moved so suddenly or was forced away by adults in the know like she had a bad disease.

“He should be alright with a good night’s sleep,” Shigeru-san repeats what Chise had gathered from their quiet talking, “It’s only a fever, Hatori-chan. He gets them from time to time.” He leaves with his burden. Soon, footsteps are heard taking the stairs.

Chise starts collecting the abandoned dishes not knowing what else to do.

“Oh my,” Touko-san startles when she turns. With stack of dishes in hand, Chise peers at what’s caught her attention. There’s another small mound of fresh vegetables in the backyard, except this time there’s a basket of fish too. “What is this?” Touko-san steps into slippers and off the porch to collect the food. When her eyes travel back to Chise, the girl freezes in place. “Did they leave this for us?”

“Mm,” Chise says, looking away.

“I wonder why.” Touko gathers up as much as she can, but it’s still too much for her arms. She sets them on the porch to get more. “Hatori-chan, could you take those to the kitchen?”

“Yes, m’am.” Still holding the dishes, Chise scoops up what she can.

“I can help,” Hinoe drawls from the dark hallway. She picks up the rest sitting there and shadows Chise.

Leaving the dishes to the right of the sink, they leave the rest on the remaining countertop.

“Why do you keep following me?” Alone, Chise stares up at the kimono-clad creature because she honestly wants to know and if it isn’t bad then maybe she can stop feeling paranoid. However, creatures—no, the neighbors that Shigeru-san spoke of have such possessive ideas when they stalk her like this. It never stops giving her chills.

There’s a sigh and a slight cackle, and a breeze takes up Chise’s hair lifting it as Hinoe kneels swiftly in front of her. Her immaculate robes twist in the air as her eyes glow a deep silvery green. For the briefest of moments, Chise Sees her terrifying true form, but it disappears before she can catch much more than a faint idea. She stiffens and steps back.

“Child, I want to spirit you away from all this and let you live comfortably,” Hinoe nods before Chise can refuse, “but you don’t want that. Misuzu said as much. I know you don’t understand how desperately we of the forest and earth and air are drawn to you. I also know humans have mistreated you for too long… I can see into your heart, little one. Part of you yearns for what I offer. Your weaknesses are so pure I just want to gather you up and protect you.”

A cool hand slowly reaches forward, curving around the tip of her ear. Chise flinches expecting pain, but the hand continues, cupping her cheek. Confused, she looks up into Hinoe’s fathomless glowing eyes. The world seems to fall away, the scent of pine and mildew and copper fills the room and suddenly Chise is scared. She knows what blood smells like.

 “All you have to do is ask. All you have to do is give me a little of yourself, little one. I will come no matter where you are. We could be together forever.”

The floor creaks. “Hatori-chan?”

A heavy gust tears through disturbing anything loose: an open book, curtains, posters. It rips papers and pictures from the fridge before it finally dies down.

Chise’s burning eyes refocus looking up at Touko-san. The older woman quickly drops her burden on the nearest elevated surface and steps forward wrapping her in a tight hug. She releases her enough to look her in the eye. “It’s okay. Takashi-kun will be okay. And, there’s nothing about you that scares me.”

Abruptly tears pour out, and Chise is trying to hold back the sobs but it sounds like hiccupping. Her fists cling to the front of her dress. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she chants.

“There’s nothing to apologize for, Hatori-chan.” Touko-san gently cradles her head, swaying. “This is okay, too. We all need a good cry on a freely offered shoulder. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” She runs her fingers through her hair and lightly rubs her scalp, and Chise remembers her own mother’s light shushing and murmuring loving words. The tears come even faster and the sobs wrack her body. She can’t seem to catch her breath, but she buries her wet, drooling, snot-covered face against her anyway and wails into her dress.

The hand on Chise’s head keeps stroking and the other around her shoulders tightens into a hug, and finally the emotions taper off enough that she’s only sniffling. Her eyes burn and feel heavy and her nose won’t stop leaking. Her fingers are sore by how tightly she kept them clenched in the soft fabric. “You’re safe here. You must have held it in for so long,” Touko whispers to her ear. This close to her Chise realizes she smells fruity, a type of citrus, but she’s not sure what type.

She pulls back feeling embarrassed at the large wet stain she left behind, and Natsume’s foster mother lets go of her easily.

“Would you like some tea?” Touko-san moves to grab some cups and busies herself with that. “Come. Have a seat. I have some crackers if you’d like.”

Now thoroughly exhausted, Chise takes a seat and stares at the back of her blue and yellow dress. Just as she sets tea down for her, Shigeru-san walks in.

“He’s resting now, but he may need to be watched in case the fever gets worse.”

“Thirty-eight again?”

Shigeru-san nods wearily. Touko-san lets out a tired sigh of her own.

“Since—” Chise nearly bites her tongue when they both look up abruptly at her. She flinches in response.

They give her a moment, a pause, before Shigeru-san asks, “What is it?”

“Only it’s the middle of the week, and I’m sure you both need sleep… I thought maybe…” She tells the floor. “I thought maybe you could ask the cre—uh, the neighbors…? To watch him.”

The adults exchange a thoughtful look.

“The Middle Ranks would be best suited for that,” Madara’s voice cuts across the quiet.

Shigeru-san looks down at the rotund not-cat. “Ah, Madara-dono. We’ll leave liquor out for them should they agree.”

“Three bottles should do it.”

“Three seems a bit high. Besides, I think we only have a full one left.”

The statue snorts. “Oh fine. You’ll owe me for arranging this then.”

“I don’t like owing favors to a neighbor, guardian of my son or not,” the older man says, crossing his arms. “What do you require?” Touko-san is glancing between the two of them with a hand to her mouth.

“Obstinate, but smart, huh? Fine. I’ll do it for a bottle of my own, but I expect it to be delivered within the week!”

“Done.

“Hmph. The things that I do for Natsume!” The statue clinks as it jogs out of the room and jumps off the porch ledge.

Shigeru-san smiles and turns to his wife. “Looks like we’ll have help tonight.” He opens a cabinet and pulls down a bottle of fine sake, setting it on the counter. “I was hoping to save this for another occasion…”

“Oh, you know neither of us like to drink,” Touko-san giggles. “What would we save it for?”

Her husband grins back. This easy, happy camaraderie between them makes Chise want to desperately be part of this family. She forces herself to pull away emotionally, not to allow her to have such towering hopes. The crashes of disappointment weren’t worth it.

Touko-san smiles in seeming reflex to her husband. Chise doesn’t think she even realizes how much she smiles. “Well, I’ll stand guard until our babysitters show up. Good night!” Shigeru-san bids her his own ‘good night, darling’. She directs that smile at Chise. She’s waiting.

“Uh. Good night, Touko-san,” Chise murmurs. Her face, especially her eyes are itchy, but she knows rubbing them will only hurt.

“Don’t keep her up too late, dear,” she says pointedly to her husband.

“I won’t.”

And Chise’s heart clenches when Touko-san’s back disappears into the darkness of the hallway. She looks down at the hardwood floor. There’s a moment where water is running but is then quickly shut off. A cool, damp hand towel is offered. “For your face,” Shigeru-san declares.

Stiffly, she takes the towel and wipes her face. It feels fresher and the itchiness is gone now. She folds it so the snot and tears are trapped inside. She hears the chair slides against the floor as the older man takes a seat at the table. He takes up the tea that Touko-san had poured and takes a sip.

Hesitantly, Chise sits across from him picking up her own cup of tea.

As soon as she drinks and sets it back down, he states, “I’ve been able to hear the neighbors for as long as I’ve been alive. I cannot see them, though I can touch them if I catch them. I pretend most of the time that I don’t hear anything because some play cruel tricks to amuse themselves.”

Chise studies the grain of the wood hiding under the glossy finish of the table. “So you can hear the crow’s call before it rains?”

He chuckles. “Yes. It’s strange to hear a kansai accent around here when we’re so far from a tourist destination.”

She grins at that.

Seriousness overtakes his face again. “Well, you and I know differently about this world with our ears, but my parents wouldn’t have it. They had absolutely no sense of them and didn’t want to hear it when I told them ‘outlandish’ stories. They believed my grandfather was brainwashing me with superstitions and fictitious accounts. But despite that, my parents did love me and cared for me deeply. Later on in their years, they accepted that I could hear beyond what they thought was common human rationality.”

Looking up from her study of the patterns in the wood, she meets his level gaze.

“Abilities like mine were very common in my family up until my grandfather’s time. He was the only one in his generation who could see and hear. Now, I’m the last of the line and I barely hold a candle to the strength of what my grandfather had.”

He pauses to take a long sip. She tilts her head slightly when he hesitates. “I’m telling you this because my family placed powerful wards into the very bones of this house. I’m too weak to maintain them constantly, so I only use them in emergencies.” His eyes grow distant as if he’s remembering something and a soft smile crosses his lips before disappearing again.

“Wards? What are those?”

“Powerful protections against the supernatural. I didn’t quite catch why my son wished to take you in, but after the tonight’s confessions I think,” he pauses holding her eyes again with his own, “he was trying to protect you, wasn’t he?”

Chills down her spine cause gooseflesh, and she rubs her hands over her arms. “Ah, yeah. Uh…” She goes back to inspecting the table. “Kitamoto-san had a demon attached to him and… I guess it wanted me instead. So… it attacked me.” Her eyes burn, but they don’t water. “It’s not his fault. Lots of things attack me… and I’m glad it’s left him alone. He should feel better now.”

Shigeru-san takes in a deep breath, but his expression if anything only softens further. “Have you seen it since?”

She shakes her head, hands clinging to her arms. “The cre—er, neighbors… there’s a big one in the forest that hurt it, I think. His name is Misuzu. He looks like a horse with horns, and he’s got a big bell that chimes. I never got to thank him.” Her mind flashes back to that time in the forest with the giant shadow hovering protectively over her.

“We can give him an offering later if you want.”

She nods, feels herself list to the side, and jerks back upright before she can topple from the chair. That was a close one. Her heart is pounding a bit from her adrenaline spiking to keep her awake.

“Well, that’s all I wanted to talk with you about tonight. We should both get some rest.”

As she stands, a thought arrests her movement. “Did,” she stops herself.

“Hm?”

She girds her courage and pushes past her exhaustion. “Did your grandfather teach you how to play the flute like that? I mean, I’ve never heard music like that. It was eerie and beautiful and… weird,” she ends flatly realizing it didn’t sound like a compliment. “I mean, it’s not bad, not at all. Just…”

“Otherworldly?” He offers with a soft laugh. “Yes, he did. It calms the neighbors and was passed down the family for generations. He’s taught me lots of little tricks like that. I’ll tell you more about it later. Okay?” His hand goes to her shoulder, patting it before dropping away. “Good night and sleep well.”

“Good night,” she repeats and then smiles tightly, “and I’ll try, Shigeru-san.”

She goes up the stairs, and glances back down to see Natsume-san’s foster father waiting attentively for her to go. He lifts an awkward hand to wave. She waves back reflexively and runs up the rest of the way, nearly bowling into Touko-san.

“Oh, careful,” Touko-san rights her. “Madara-san kept pushing at me to leave, so I guess they’re here, right?”

“I can check.” Chise quickly makes her way to his room and sees shadows and hears quiet whispering through the shoji to Natsume’s room. She returns to Touko-san’s side and nods. “Definitely here. They’re keeping quiet though.”

“Oh good. I told them where they could get more water if they needed it. Now, you should get some sleep too. Alright?”

“Yes, m’am.” Chise feels a smile pull at her lips. “Thank you. You’ve been so kind to me. Even though I’ve been a poor guest.” It made her miss her own mother terribly, but she didn’t want to say that because it also reminded her of the moment at that balcony and the painful recollection of being all alone.

“Oh, Chise-chan,” Touko-san sighs out, hands reaching out and then holding onto her shoulders. “I hope it’s not too presumptuous to call you that? You feel like family now.”

Her face flushes with hopefulness and happiness and she looks away. “N-no. It’s fine.”

Sliding the shoji open for her, Touko-san moves back. “I already laid out your futon. I wasn’t sure if my dear husband would talk you to sleep. He can really carry on when he gets excited.” She lets out a pleased giggle.

“Thanks.” Chise quickly enters, drops by the futon, crawls under the covers, and snuggles in. “Good night.”

“Good night, Chise-chan.” The sliding shoji wisps shut.

For once, she sleeps through the night and so deeply that she doesn't even dream.

She doesn’t wake until a loud, piercing alarm goes off in the next room. She sits up, only half-alert, before the alarm cuts out. Her eyes are grimy and she definitely needs a bath. There’s a tap on the window, and she glances over her shoulder to see the pale crow neighbor by it.

Groggily, she gets up with a stumble and slides open the window. “Yes?”

A ripe pear is offered outside the window in the palm of their hand. It looks absolutely delicious.

“Thank you,” Chise says, reaching through the open window taking the pear with her left hand and immediately taking a bite. Juices burst from the succulent fruit and she makes a noise at how it melts on her tongue. “Oh this is good!”

They smile a pleased smile and turn to go.

“Wait! What’s your name? What about your friend?”

Silvery eyes glance at her with open curiosity as they turn to face her again. Their shining hair shifts in a breeze, glinting with the red of the beginning sunrise.

They raise their forefingers up and, facing them at each other, crook the fingers.

Chise stares in confusion. Their fingers are bowing to each other? Is that like a greeting? “Hi?”

The pale crow smiles brightly at her. Slowly they lift their right hand, pinky and ring finger curled down with the thumb holding it, forefinger pointed up with middle finger pressed towards it and crossing. They release the hand pose and then they point the forefinger horizontally, sweeping it to the side briefly.

“Uh… I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

They point at their dainty nose then act as if they’re placing something on their chest. They turn their hand like it’s encircling a spot now. Slowly they repeat it. They point at their nose and then bring their hand to their chest. Like a name tag?

“Oh! Is it your name?” Chise fumbles the original movement, and the crow patiently waits, repeating it when she falters. When Chise finally does it right, the crow smiles, then bows their head with a fist which opens into a hand straightened flat and chops it down from the forehead.

After a greeting a name, of course what comes next is… “Nice to meet you?” She copies the fluid movements clumsily.

The silent crow nods, and after a patient wave of goodbye floats away in the direction of the tree where their dark partner waits.

Chise finishes eating the pear, and then realizes she has nothing to wipe her hands off on. She grabs some facial tissue to wrap up the pear core and wipes her hands too. Then, she puts away the futon and heads out the room to the bathroom. She quickly washes off and puts the borrowed pajamas back on, which smells of the pear juice she must have dribbled onto the front.

All of her things are in her duffle bag. She stares at herself in the mirror. The bags under her eyes seems a bit better, and her green eyes have a faint sparkle in their depths but she blinks until they disappear to mellow blankness. She needs to brush her hair and teeth, but they can wait until after breakfast.

As she opens the door silently, there’s yelling coming from the kitchen, and she peeks out the bathroom to see the not-a-cat’s spirit tail flopping in the hallway. Shigeru-san passes by her without noticing her in the dimness, heading straight for the brightly lit kitchen. He pauses at the door as if sensing the unseen spirit flailing about beyond it. There’s loud laughter now.

Shoulders dropping down in relief, he passes through the doorway and greets them. Chise slowly slides down the hallway which smells of delicious fish and natto, peering into the kitchen.

Shigeru-san is now reading a newspaper, Touko-san is at the stove, and Natsume-san is placing cups on the table. The latter is the only one to notice her and calls out a ‘good morning.’

“G-good morning, everyone,” she says feeling nervous. The Fujiwaras greet her as she takes a seat. So much has happened after only a night. Natsume-san must still be mad at her, right? But he’s greeting her easily and apologizes for being ‘childish’.

She understands that he was stressed and sick, but a sleep cycle later seems to have done wonders for him? That’s a little strange.

“No, it wasn’t you,” he reassures her when she apologizes for the night prior. “I don’t have the best constitution. If I overdo things, I get sick.”

Oh, that makes sense. He shouldn’t have _warded_ the room where she had the most restful sleep in ages. There was a deep physical cost in doing so and yet here he is acting like it was no big deal. “Ah. So, it was me.”

She doesn’t say anything more as she digs into the natto and rice, while Natsume’s nose curls at it. He gets the fish in a salad.

That’s when the Fujiwaras lay into Natsume-san for hiding his protective spells from them, hurting himself needlessly with that sort of thing. He doesn’t seem to know how to deal with it, with their concern. It’s certainly a dynamic he isn’t used to being on the receiving end of by how he acts.

As soon as Chise is directed, she goes to the laundry room to collect her things, feeling guilty about causing strife in the household. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. She changes while she’s there leaving the dirty pajamas in the hamper. Brushes her hair and grabs her schoolbag. It’s probably too late to brush her teeth and she rubs her tongue along them feeling a bit gross at the tackiness, but shrugs.

So, she’s off to the entryway pulling on her shoes, just as a cowed Natsume-san with slightly reddened cheeks appears and shoves a giant, cloth-wrapped bento box towards her. Touko-san wishes them a safe journey that day.

Then, they head to school by foot. It’s a familiarity that Chise is glad to have. It also lets her talk to Natsume-san with her full attention. He has a lot of nonverbal cues she’d otherwise miss if she were focusing on the road with her bike.

She tells him about her conversation with Shigeru-san last night, and he chides her for not bringing up the glorping black things in her food. It had been late and it was the last thing she was thinking about at the time so of course she didn’t say anything. Natsume-san seems to be making a bigger deal over it than it was.

Then again, it seems like he cares more about others than he does for himself. So, it's in-line with what she already knows about him.

It still makes her uneasy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For whatever reason, the white crow is mute. In this fic, they know JSL, so they signed, 'Ran', for their name. Yes, those are actual signs for 'My name's Ran. Yoroshiku.' (literally Please treat me well)  
> Because Chise doesn't know JSL, she knows the fingerspelling for 'Ran' now but not the speaking equivalent.


	10. With Open Arms

Chise greets Natsume-san’s friend, Tanuma Kaname. His skin has a worrying paleness to it and his eyes seem to be a dark blue almost black, but he’s only human and that lets Chise relax a little as he tags along after Natsume-san. Hurrying down the other street, she makes her way to the school as the sun breaks up over the roofs of the prevalent houses surrounding her.

Today, Hinoe has kept her distance. Chise is glad for that since the beautiful not-woman seems to hate humans even though she tolerates the Fujiwaras, and Chise is a little afraid of her. Fortunately the distance isn’t too far to react as the only warning Chise gets is the rattle of chains before a gust and a shadow is towering in front of her with dark, writhing violet hair.

Hinoe’s back is scaly black as her clothing seems to melt away while her form grows. “You  _dare_  attack my little one?  ** _Fool_**.”

A huge blast of noxious wind nearly knocks Chise over and she stumbles against the nearest light pole, mouth and nose covered. Dark miasma fills the street choking the light of the sun to a dullness of a foggy day. The demon laughs deeply, entirely amused by Hinoe it seems. Without warning, the chains gather up like some monster and dive towards her.

Despite her human features and human hands clenched around the longest hairpin Chise has seen, Hinoe is wraith-like as her hair knocks back the chains with careless flicks. It takes some squinting to realize Hinoe is legless. The tattered kimono covers part of it, but a large tube of black scales rippling with muscles is holding her upright.

“And you made me ruin my favorite kimono!” Hinoe complains like a normal woman, but her voice slips back into an entirely unnatural, growling croon, “ _Too bad for you_ …  ** _I’m hungry_** _!_ ”

Sparks fly as the two clash, sometimes faster than Chise’s eyes can follow, and the demon howls when Hinoe’s thrown hairpin pierces through its chest. Cackling, she whirls up and around, mouth opening, opening, opening, wider and wider. A short black sword of some kind slices into her abdomen and she screeches, engorged arm swiping down.

The miasma thickens even worse, blotting out even more light, and Hinoe slams into the ground as the demon howls his glee. “ ** _It seems that I… am the victor_.** ”

“Hinoe!” Chise shrieks before slapping her hands over her mouth and pressing up against the telephone pole. She tries to straighten, but she feels so weak and her legs barely hold her up as it was.  _No, this is no good. I need to escape!_  She shoves herself away from the pole and crumples against the wall. She catches herself with both hands, but she’s gasping from the disgusting air. Her vision is blurring and she can’t catch her breath.

The chains drag along the street as he steps away. Each step punctuated by the grinding noise.

_I have to… I have to…_

“ _HOW DARE YOU!”_  Hinoe screams like the howling wind and the demon is slammed into the wall only a few feet from Chise. Her hands have elongated to sharpened tips, and she’s using them now slashing into the black, rotting flesh of the demon dark ichor splashing everywhere.

Her eyes are wide and frenzied with bloodlust and mouth still far too big and wide and open displaying fangs, drenched in tarry blood that can only be her own.

Then a bright light suffuses the entire area, completely blowing away the miasma, and Hinoe’s scales begin to warp and melt under it. Something viscous and dark blue hurls from her mouth joining all the other fluids splattered around. “ _Exorcists_ ,” she hisses, takes a moment more to stare down at the shivering Chise, and then flees from the road into the shadowed alleys.

Another burst of light slams through, startling Chise with how warm it is. Every hair is up on her limbs and her scalp is tingling. Her skin feels tight against her joints and her sight wobbles again though her stomach feels light, instead of heavy and queasy as it was with the miasma.

After blinking her eyes clear, she pushes herself upright again and breathes sweet air.

The demon is left with only his upper torso and a trail of pulverized organs and black oozing out of him, yet he pushes himself upright with hands missing fingers. The half-melted head begins to laugh. “My  _win_!” One by one chains with black-blooded tips rise and point towards her. Unable to think with the demon so close, since it would surely attack the moment she turns her back, Chise is frozen.

“YOUR BODY WILL BE M—URGK!” And then the demon screams, pinned in place with a spear with a piece of paper attached to it. “YOU DAMN EXORCISTS! I’LL KILL YOU!!”

Two more neighbors have appeared before her. The one blindfolded with thick curly hair and giant, curled horns throws another spear into the demon with detached precision, which successfully pierces its throat so it could no longer rant. It screams in wordless rage instead. The other one with a too-large smile and too-long black hair stands in front of her, fingernails extended to sharp points. Both are wearing plain kimonos with a black overcoat like some kind of uniform.

Chise stiffens when a man in a floppy-brimmed hat, hiding bright yellow hair and sunglasses calmly strolls around the corner with a grim smile. In his hands is the biggest calligraphy brush Chise has seen.

“Hello! Natori Shuuichi’s here to save the day!”

She simply stares in disbelief because he is  _not what she was expecting of an exorcist._  He is  _sparkling_. Why— _oh my god_ , she thinks. She recognizes him. It hits her when she sees the tiny black lizard with barbed claws clinging to his face. He’s an incredibly popular movie star…  _and an exorcist?!_

Wearing a dual-horned mask, a third neighbor, a blond-haired one in the same sort of clothes as the others, drops a handful of paper on top of the demon, which spreads out and settles. Natori-san paints an intricate circle around the struggling demon with ink. “Thank you, Sasago. Excellent spear work.” The neighbor with ram horns smiles sinisterly.

In moments he’s finished, and the last neighbor offers him a pot. “Thank you, Hiiragi.” He holds the pot out and recites an incredibly meaningless string of incantations followed by an appeal and a command.

The demon is sucked into the pot like smoke into an air filter. The spears are caught by Sasago before they clatter to the ground.

Natori-san plugs the hole with cork and then slaps a piece of inked paper on top, which folds over it like tape. “There!” He hands the demon-possessed pot to Hiiragi and his sparkles  _intensify_  as he turns towards Chise.

She steps back with a soft ‘eep’ and bumps into the long-haired one who is huffing ominously at her.

“ _Precious one, precious one_ ,” the creepiest of the three chants softly at her, breathing in deeply as her lips part revealing far too many teeth, “ _You can see us_?”

“Urihime, Sasago. Check the perimeter.”

With a low snarl, the one named Urihime throws herself into the air away from Chise, disappearing with the other one.

“A job well done, don’t you think, Hatori Chise-chan?” The man removes his sunglasses revealing reddish brown eyes, even less human than Natsume-san’s if she was ever asked about it.

He’s an exorcist. She needs to run, right? But, his eyes are hypnotic and that keeps her from fleeing. Charisma? No. Its effects feel a little familiar, but it’s something else.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she states frankly. “Don’t even think about it. The Fujiwaras and the Kitamotos and Madara and Natsume-san won’t let you.”

He blinks at her. Then he presses a hand to his face and he laughs outright. “Oh, you know Natsume! This makes things easier then.” He crouches like she’s eight. Up close the lizard scurries under his clothes, never having fewer than two claws clinging to him at a time.

Her eyes follow its path as her hands tighten onto the straps of her bag with a strong sense of danger.

“”Don’t worry. I’m not affiliated with any such shady organizations that would kidnap you,” the actor says, and she lifts her head up slowly looking through her bangs. “Technically, I’m a lone operative with no official connections to those types of clans.”

“What do you want?”

“Kitamoto-san hired me to exorcise the demon that’s been chasing you. How long was it a problem for?”

“Only for a few days. It was attached to Kitamoto-san before it lunged for me. He’s better now” She stares at his reddish eyes and then startles when the pitch-black lizard crawls out from the collar of his shirt again.

“Ohhh? You’re really brave. Most kids your age wouldn’t be able to deal with that.”

The lizard turns its ink-black head as if sensing her eyes and stares at her with its own empty sockets. The more she stares, the more she realizes it’s not a lizard at all. It wasn’t even a creature. It was made of…

“Oh, you can see this too?” The blond man with plain glasses smiles broadly, suddenly sparkling. The lizard dives down his right sleeve without disturbing his clothing this time. It unnerves her. “I was born with it, but it won’t hurt you. See?” He holds out his hand, and the lizard perches on top of it, head cocked towards her.

She reaches out and pets it. It hops onto the top of her hand and she stares at it and there seem to be ribbons and ribbons of ink tightly looped and coiled together. She can’t read any of it, but the never-ending knot it makes leaves her breathless. Where did it start? Where did it begin? “You’re made of words, huh?”

Growing glossier each moment it stays attached to her, it dances along her fingertips, which hover over the man’s hand.

“What—what.” The man sounds as if he can’t catch his breath. But he doesn’t move away. “What are you?” He whispers finally with a sort of reverence she’s used to from the neighbors.

“Human, just like you.” She looks up, but the man’s appearance has changed. Not by much, but enough. His ears are sharply tipped, his eyes a deeper red. His skin is literally radiant and his hair shines in the sunlight.

Oh. He doesn’t look human anymore. She carefully sets the lizard back onto his hand, and he’s back to looking like how he was before with normal curved ears. She looks down at the innocent lizard and it cocks its head at her before diving under his clothes again. She looks up at the man again, rubbing at her eyes because his radiance is gone. His eyes seem browner too. Shifting in confusion at his appearance, before she can react further she hears the school bell drone from several blocks away.  _Oh no!_  What time is it? How late is it?

“Sorry, I’ve got to go!” She turns away from the man, whose palms are shaking as he looks down at them, and she wonders if he knew what he isn’t.

Ah, he’s an adult who exorcises things for a living and an actor. He should be fine if he didn’t know. Chise lets her worry over the stranger go, glad that she no longer had to deal with the demon.

* * *

Having missed first period, she silently accepts the detention slip from the teacher. The neighbors are back in the hallways crowding her and she thinks it’s because Hinoe was hurt from the fight. Part of her worries about Hinoe, and another part is angry that she forgot about Hinoe until it was inconvenient for her. So, Chise tries to ignore them. She tries to shoo them away. She tries and tries, but her patience snaps in the afternoon.

“I can’t see or hear the teacher! Go away!!” She finally screams at them during class. The neighbors disperse, leaving behind the stunned faces of her classmates turned towards her. The math teacher blinks but otherwise doesn’t look as shocked.

“I’m…” Her skin burns in embarrassment and shame. “I’m sorry for the disruption!” She bows deeply. “Please continue, Nakamura-sensei.” Unable to bear any response with her nerves so jittery, she runs out of the classroom and closes the door behind her.  _God, what have I done?_  She allows gravity to slide her down against the wall, both fists pressed to her forehead covering her face. 

She can hear the class querying one another about her outburst, some even saying derogatory things about her, but others are defending her too. It leaves her confused as Nakamura-sensei tells them to settle down and assigns problems from the workbook. A minute later, she slides open the door and closes it. The gray-haired teacher takes a seat on floor beside a stiff Chise. “Were they bothering you on your way to school, too?”

Again, she’s confused, until she looks up at her. Her math teacher is in flowing, otherworldly robes of a celestial being with a serene smile, but Chise blinks and the mirage disappears.

A chalk-dusted finger taps Chise’s nose. “We’ve heard a lot about you Hatori-san. I’m surprised Fujiwara-san hasn’t thought to give you a protective talisman yet.” The aged woman pulls a palm-sized stone from her pocket. There’s a large, squiggly character on it, almost like a hieroglyph, but its more than one concept. There’s a meaning to it, seeping unexpectedly into Chise’s mind. Something like ‘earth-wind protect from corruption’.

“I… I couldn’t. It’s yours. Don’t you need it?”

Nakamura-sensei smiles and offers it again. “I can make more. Think of it as a gift. Besides, you don’t want to rely on exorcists, do you?”

Chise finally accepts it. “Thank you.” She closes her fist over it and bows her head. “I won’t tell the exorcists about you, Nakamura-sensei.”

“I would hope not. Even that Matoba Seiji can’t see me if I don’t want him to.”

“Does that mean that the school is where you—” The god holds a finger to her lips.

“There will be no more interruptions. Are we clear? You didn’t do so well on that last quiz and you haven’t turned in your homework.”

Blushing, Chise’s hand tightens on the stone. “Sorry. I haven’t…”

“I understand. That’s part of what the detention is about. Principal Tanaka thinks the transition to our school was lacking considering how often you switch schools. We didn’t properly evaluate you.”

“The principal did?”

Nakamura-sensei nods and stands easily, belying any impression that she was rusty by aging joints that she typically shows in class. “Now, come along. I expect you to finish the problem sets too.”

Chise calmly follows the god into the classroom, mutely overwhelmed by the thought of an entire school and grounds being a god’s shrine.

* * *

The remaining hour and a half of school flies by in a rush. Most of her classmates don’t seem to know how to act around her anymore. This is normal. They’re wondering if she’s insane and should be locked up before she hurts anyone. They’re wondering whether she pushed her mother over the railing of the balcony—no, they don’t know about the circumstances of her mother’s death, that it was a suicide. The meaner ones would have taken advantage of that by now if they had.

Whenever she has to leave her desk she walks while staring at the ground and trying not to look at anyone.

More than she expects approach her with concern or gruff understanding, and she’s even invited to go eat at a cute bakery down the road right after the school bell signals that classes are over. But she can’t.

“Sorry, Ito-san. I was really tardy this morning so I have detention now. I’m not sure when they’ll let me out. And this weekend, I think I might be moving to a different foster family…”

The three girls jerk back a little in surprise. “What? But you’ve only been here a week?!” Shimizu exclaims, hands made into fists and shaking up and down in distress.

A little calmer, a black-haired Takeuchi vents, “They’re making you leave already? What jerks!”

“Wait, wait. She didn’t say she was moving out of town, right Hatori-chan?” Ito implores her with wide, brown eyes behind her black-framed glasses. “I know the Kitamotos and it doesn’t sound like them at all!”

“I don’t know yet.” Chise didn’t want to presume that she would be rehomed with the Fujiwaras. “But another family in town is interested so maybe…”

“That’s brutal, having to live like that,” Shimizu laments, swiping her long, brown ponytail to the side with a casual arm. “How many families have you gone through?”

“Haru! Rude!!” Takeuchi hisses. “What is wrong with you?! Show some tact!”

Chise lips quirk a little at the display and then tightens them together in thought. “I think about… sixteen in five years? I stopped counting after awhile.”

The three stare at her in shock. All of them have telltale signs of unshed tears. “That’s  _awful_. What kind of people…”

“Shush, Haru. You know you shouldn’t have asked,” Takeuchi chides.

“Yeah,” Shimizu says wiping at her face with a cute handkerchief.

“It’s not really their fault,” Chise mumbles. “I’m weird and creepy. And I’m barely related to any of them. So… I’ve been lucky I haven’t been abandoned at an orphanage yet.”

“Hatori-chan! Don’t talk like that!” Shimizu wails and would have wrapped arms around her in a far too familiar manner if not for Ito and Takeuchi physically holding her back.

“Haru, calm down!! You’re freaking her out!”

Shimizu is seriously crying torrents out of pity for her situation and Chise doesn’t know how to feel about that. She’s far more used to the detached pitying looks, like her pain was an abstract painting to be gawked at rather than a moment to shed tears over.

“Hatori-kun!”

Startled, Chise turns away from the three close friends to look over her shoulder. It’s Principal Tanaka. As usual he’s in his slightly baggy, but well-kept business suit and is wearing his kindly grandfatherly smile. “Ah! Principal Tanaka, sorry.” She bows and then turns and bows again at her classmates. “Sorry, I have to go.” Chise grabs her school bag and quickly rushes towards the elderly man wearing thick glasses. He doesn’t look angry at least.

“We expect to go to the bakery with you sometime next week, Hatori-chan!” “Yeah, don’t forget!” Ito and Takeuchi, respectively, call out. Shimizu is still catching her breath and sniffling.

She doesn’t respond as she follows the principal down the stairs. “I’m glad you’re making friends, Hatori-kun. I know that can be difficult.”

“Mm.” She agrees.

After a few more paces, he tilts his head. “Has everyone treated you well? You haven’t been bullied?”

“No sir. I… Kids talk, but no one’s… I’ve been treated okay,” she answers feebly, caught off-guard by questions.

“If that changes, you can always come see me, or any of the other teachers.” He stops by an empty classroom not far from the teacher’s lounge that already has the lights on and a solitary desk waiting. “Here you are. Follow the directions on the board. You may go once you’re done, but I expect you to be back again tomorrow.” With a parting nod, he leaves right as she settles into the desk.

There are two sets of directions, one in obvious human language and the other not so much.

She pulls out her books and notebooks and immediately sets to work as directed, spending several hours on it. At this rate, after-school activities would be done before she finishes. She still has more to do, but she’s frankly tired, and Touko-san will worry if she comes home too late.

She packs up her books, clasping the front of the school bag shut when she’s done. Then she approaches the board. The other directions are complete gibberish, until she presses her fingertips to it and traces the pads along the curves of chalk.

‘needs gentleness-self for life’ the meaning poured into her mind. ‘life’ here was ‘mortal and human’. And the ‘gentleness’… had deep troughs of feeling, rare feelings Chise would associate with kindness, compassion, and understanding. So much in that one character. It was telling her it was necessary to be kind to herself to stay alive.

There were two more lines of odd loops and swirls and dots and squiggles. She touches each one. ‘must welcome-safe shrine-home’ and ‘trust-not death-ritualist-sorcerers’. Huh. She supposes the last was ‘don’t trust exorcists’. Though why exorcist had a weird pairing of symbols, Chise had no clue.

The other one was tougher. Did she have to accept a safe place to call home? But why ‘shrine’? Hm…

“Oh, good, you’re finished. It’s time to close up the school, Hatori-san,” the groundskeeper murmurs. There was something strange about him though, she couldn’t quite put a finger— _oh_. In a blink, the flowing garments vanish again. It was very difficult to see them, as every time she did they faded like mist.

“I forgot the name you go by in this form, sensei.”

“I doubt anyone’s introduced you to me yet,” says the god. “My name is Koga. Pleased to meet you.”

“Pleased to meet you, Koga-san.”

“My followers will no longer trouble you even without that Wet Woman to terrify them. They have been scolded thoroughly.”

Chise blinks and tilts her head. Then it comes to her. “You mean, Hinoe?”

The man nods looking pleased. “I tolerate her because she’s not interested in eating the humans of this village.”

“Huh? But I thought that type required…”

“Oh, you’ve listened to too many mortal folktales about us.” The buff groundskeeper waves a hand. “She’s practically vegan by human standards.”

“I see. Do you know if she’s okay?”

“She probably retreated to the lake near the forest to heal. It’s too late to check up on her though.” He raises a forefinger up and closes an eye. “Remember my directives. They will help you live your life to their fullest extent, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Head on home, dearest child of the night.”

Looking back at the thirty-something, muscled man wearing a cheerful, disarming smile, Chise nods. “I’ll be going then, Koga-san.”

The sun is nearing sunset. It’s got to be late now as she walks by herself down the road back to the Fujiwaras. She can hear the cicadas and the crickets call and the beginning winks of fireflies.

It’s then she realizes she’s  _tired_. Not sleepy, no. Drained and wrung out. She can see that most kids are running home and people are heading inside for dinner, leaving the roads mostly deserted.

She passes by the adjacent street where she’d been attacked, but it doesn’t look any different. Not even a drop of ink on the concrete…

Because it’s close to night, she can hear the shadows whisper and stir as unfriendly neighbors wake up.

“Ah! It’s the Beggey. They’re so rare on this side of the world, you know?”

“Did you see? She wrangled a stone of protection from the daughter of Omoikane-sama!”

“Well, you can’t expect  _humans_  to protect such a treasure.”

“Human negligence… It makes me want to steal her away from them.”

Eyeing the formless shadows whispering about her that surprisingly don’t try to attack, Chise shivers as she turns onto the road leading to the rice paddies. The shadows wriggle less here with fewer people to feed them. She still feels watched, but no matter where she looks she doesn’t see anything. She begins to jog.

She makes it to the gravel road leading to the copse of trees that will eventually open up to the Fujiwara property, but there’s someone there. A young boy with black hair and eyes, playing hopscotch by himself. He’s wearing a backpack that’s entirely too big for him. Human, too. “Are you lost?” She asks.

The boy tilts his face up in the dying sunlight. He smiles. “I’m bringing you home with me, Oneesan.”

“Eh?” She blinks at him as he lifts a hand already in a strange sign reminiscent of the white crow.

“ _Protect us from the world of dark,_ ” he chants with that crooked sign as it flows into another. “ _That land beyond humans_.”

She frowns at him as the air grows heavy, but she can still breathe as her eyes dart around wondering what the heck this kid was doing.

“ _The sea rises to greet rock and bear sand_ ,  _I implore ye_ ,” he calls out drawing his hand to point at her, _“BIND!_ ”

Something roars underneath her and she gasps pulling away from her own elongating shadow as  _something_  emerges wrapped in thick paper.

Smirking, the black-haired kid rushes in and  _dumps_  a handful of paper talismans on top of the writhing feathered and furred beast. Vines with thorns seems to poke up out of the ground and flail errantly but feebly as the beast roars a howl.

Then, the kid grabs her hand. “I don’t have another vessel big enough to take care of it. We should go home! Nanase-sama will scold me if we don’t hurry.”

Chise is pulled down the road away from the struggling monster. Her mind is blank until she registers what he said and refuses to go any farther back towards town. “What?”

“Aw, you don’t recognize me? I’m sad.” The boy barely comes up to her breastbone, yet pats her shoulder like adults did to reassure little kids. “That’s okay. We met a long time ago!” He frowns a bit, scrunching his nose. “I was too young to remember it, but! I’m here now! So let’s go home!”

“Huh??” He’s pulling her again, but she wrenches her wrist out of his small grip. “I have a home here! Who are you?”

Something hardens a bit in his eyes, which is scary coming from a kid half her age because she can’t stop thinking about how  _young_  he is. How did he know all those spells?

He claps his hands together. “Ugh! Nanase-sama would scold me,” he whines as he wrings his hair and stirs his hands around. “I’m sorry!! My name’s Fuyumi.” Now with hair all tousled, he bows lightly and smiles angelically. “Please be kind to me like you did in the past, Chise-aneue!”

Her world seems to tilt as she stumbles back a bit. “Wh-what…. You… you’re…”

“We  _really_  have to go though! So please,” he darts forward, but she easily sidesteps him and dodges away from him. Her mind is racing because wherever their father took him, it’s obvious that he’s received training as an exorcist. And he’s  _good_  at it if he subdued that monster that’d been hiding in her shadow.

But exorcists want to take her away from any kind of normal life.

“Ha! Caught you!” He sings out a hand holding tightly onto her sleeve. Her stomach clenches as he grins up at her. She wants that.  _Family_. She thought that her brother and father were lost to her forever.

“What about Dad?”

“Come on and find out for yourself, Aneue!! We can live together and they’ll take care of us. You won’t ever have to worry about getting hit again!”

That takes her breath away because… how… he  _knew_  that she’d been shuffled around to unsavory places. It’s mortifying and her face is red. He’s leading her by the hand relentlessly towards the park at the edge of town.

“ _I’ve always wanted a little sister, Hatori-chan. Would that be okay with you?”_

_“It’s scary being forced to move in with people you don’t know. Isn’t it?”_

_“Hauntings are pretty common around here.”_

_“I will take care of the collateral effects.”_

_“This room is protected now.”_

_“You feel like family now.”_

The memories of their endless kindnesses flow into her, but it is the last that snaps her out of it.

_“Exorcists are always looking for rare talents like the ones Chise-chan has.”_

 “No!” She yanks her hand back and the hurt look on her little brother’s face makes her feel guilty. “I don’t want to go. Why don’t you come with me instead? The Fujiwaras have plenty of space in their house.”

“But it’s not safe so close to that forest,” he says angrily. “Everything in that forest should be exterminated before you’re safe.”

They’re standing near the river and twilight has fallen.

“I’m sorry, Fuyumi-kun. I can’t go with you.” She turns and starts sprinting back towards the Fujiwaras.

“RUSS!!”

Suddenly, the ground is no longer under her as she’s lifted effortlessly into the air by her backpack. She screams in fright because she’s above the trees before she knows it and the straps are digging into her arms.

“Beggey, know your place,” the grumpy, melodic voice says above her. She tries to crane her head around but she can’t with how far up the backpack is riding and she feels like her grip is slipping.

“RUSS, HOLD ONTO HER PROPERLY, STUPID BIRD!”

“As you wish, Master.” Long arms scoop under her legs and hold her close while she flails. A sharp tanned nose and pink-colored pupils stare down at her impassively as her brain finally realizes she’s not going to fall and she stills, face towards the black-clothed shoulder. Huge black wings frame the neighbor, but he’s wearing that strange uniform she’d seen on the other neighbors by that Natori man. He smells a little like metal and wood shavings.

“Now, GET DOWN HERE!”

Chise’s stomach drops in freefall as the world reorients itself again. Her legs are shaky still even with her feet on the ground, yet she’s fine. She tries to push away yet the neighbor just continues to hold her close weirdly. “Let me go!” She bats at him, but he doesn’t even flinch.

He simply stares at her before he closes his eyes and acts like he’s not holding her at all.

“What’s wrong with him?” She directs at her brother.

“Oh, Russ? He’s mine. He won’t let you get away again.”

“Yours?” She frowns and stares up at the neighbor again, whose eyes are still closed.

“Yep! He was some right hand of a mountain god or something like that, but I caught him fair and square so he’s mine now!!”

In the fading light, a single line creases the neighbor’s forehead in a frown and doesn’t go away. His eyes slit open and they gleam dark and dangerous and so very  _angry_.

“Now, c’mon, Russ! Turn her around properly. Don’t suffocate her.” Chise is tossed up and the neighbor rearranges himself so that she’s facing outwards now, but she’s perched in the crook of his arm with the other arm wrapped firmly around her middle.

Her brother beams up at her. “Great! And let’s go! UWaHGRK—!!”

From the river, a slippery shadow of black scales and long fingers gathers her brother up like a plaything. When the backpack falls from his shoulder, it thuds loudly and falls on its side.

“ _FOUL EXORCIST!!_ ” It hisses drawing sharpened fingers to his face, her hair writhing around.

But that’s… “Hinoe!!” Chise calls out. “Don’t hurt him!!”

“ _Order your slave to let her go, or I will eat your heart_ ,” she snarls viciously and shakes him.

He’s muttering something and then slaps a large piece of paper on her chin because it’s all he can reach with his short arms. “ _BIND_!!!!”

A bright light pours out the paper balloons out into all four directions unfurling like some massive parachute and enveloping all of Hinoe’s large snake-like body other than her face.

“ _Let the ground take what belongs to it, be one again with the earth, TIE DOWN!_ ”

Rock spires shoot up impaling Hinoe in a spray of blood in the sunset and there’s a long shriek of pain.

Chise gags, holding a hand against her lips in quiet horror as her brother smiles in his stained clothes. Her brother… he brings death indiscriminately to the neighbors. That’s why that symbol for exorcists…

“ _Foul… foul…. exorcist. May you be curs—!”_

Another paper slaps across her mouth. “SILENCE!!” Still smirking with confidence, her brother is winded but he straightens and laughs lightly. “I’ve never seen a Wet Woman before. Gross.” He pokes the squirming cocoon. “I bet Seiji-san would like you. I should call Nanase-sama after all. Since I’m late.” He crouches by his bag and starts digging through it. The flap slides aside revealing a very large corked jar with a piece of paper on it, but the bag’s side prevents Chise from seeing what’s inside.

 _This is bad, but what do I do? The only thing I have is the stone_. She palms it and taps it against the neighbor but nothing happens. He simply looks down at her. “Sorry. I was hoping I could get away,” she mutters. Her face is red because she’s so  _frustrated_. She doesn’t want to be kidnapped like this. She didn’t want to find out that her brother had become so twisted.

The paper around Hinoe begins to rip and shred just as her brother hangs up the phone. “Oh, but if you escape, I don’t have any more of those left… I’ll have to exterminate you.”

Hair rips free and stabs her brother’s shoulder and wraps around him.

“NO!!” Chise screams out. “Hinoe!! PLEASE STOP.” The hair stills, but now they’re both wrapped up, one in hair and the other in paper.

Face glowing sickly yellow, her brother intones, “ _Remove pollution from this monster, let it return to dirt, disperse for all time,_   _PURIFY.”_  The glow overtakes him and he’s released from Hinoe’s hair when it instantly turns to ash and the light overtakes the rest of her and she howls as the bulk within the blood-stained cocoon shrinks and shrinks and shrinks and oh god she’s going to die if this keeps up.

“ **DON’T HURT HER. LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!!** ”

Something builds and then bursts out of Chise’s skin, striking the neighbor holding her back several paces. She falls so slowly, landing as lightly as a feather on the ground. Her hair is floating around her as if in a light breeze and suddenly she can see and hear and feel far beyond everything, the layers of light and the world, she  _wills_  the cage around Hinoe to disappear and it does.

Her brother trips as he looks up at her in shock. His mouth opens and closes but nothing can make it past the whispering power flowing through her.

Chise doesn’t even feel like she’s walking as she reaches for Hinoe. “Please don’t die. Please heal. You’re hurt because of me.” Sound rushes through her ears and the pressure builds again and claps downs hard. The snakeskin crumbles and rolls back like the dying petals of a flower revealing Hinoe in the form Chise knew, a beautiful woman in a striking kimono. Sweating as her chest labors for air, Chise falls to the ground cradling Hinoe’s unconscious face.

Tears ugly and thick roll down her face as the pain thrums through her shivering form. “Hinoe… I’m sorry. Thank you for not killing my only brother.”

The stone still in her hand is hot as she presses it against Hinoe’s neck. “Please wake up.”

Chise’s too hot and now too cold, it keeps changing between the two, and everything is growing fuzzy. When she’s wheezing because she can’t seem to catch her breath, her head feels like it splits open and she finds she’s too weak to hold herself up. Collapsing as she pants for air, she rolls her eyes one last time to the side seeing her brother’s shadowed form over her and the tears running down his face.

Has he been calling for her all this time? She’s really too tired now… it would be better to get some sleep now. Yes, that’s what she needs.

So with one last sigh, she closes her eyes and lets oblivion take her.


End file.
